Health Maintenance in School-Aged Children: Part I. History, Physical Examination, Screening, and Immunizations.

Health Maintenance in School-Aged Children: Part I. History, Physical Examination, Screening, and Immunizations. Am Fam Physician. 2019 Aug 15;100(4):213-218 Authors: Riley M, Morrison L, McEvoy A Abstract The goals of the health maintenance visit in school-aged children (five to 12 years) are promoting health, detecting disease, and counseling to prevent injury and future health problems. During the visit, the physician should address patient and parent/caregiver concerns and ask about emergency department or hospital care since the last visit; lifestyle habits (diet, physical activity, daily screen time, secondhand smoke exposure, hours of sleep per night, dental care, safety habits); and school performance. Poor school performance may indicate problems such as learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or bullying. Previsit questionnaires and psychosocial screening questionnaires are also useful. When performing a physical examination, the physician should be alert for signs of abuse. Children should be screened for obesity (defined as body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for age and sex), and obese children should be referred for intensive behavioral interventions. Although its recommendations are primarily based on expert opinion, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening for hypertension annually, vision and hearing problems approximately every two years, and dyslipidemia once betw...
Source: American Family Physician - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Am Fam Physician Source Type: research