What Causes Irritability?

Discussion Child abuse or non-accidental trauma is a clinical diagnosis. It is the constellation of history, physical examination, radiographic evaluation, laboratory testing and investigation that determines if child abuse has occurred. Irritability caused by fractures or other trauma can be a presenting symptom of abuse. Fractures can be a presentation but they are also common problems not associated with abuse. Femoral shaft fractures are estimated to account for only 1.6% of all fractures in children, therefore they are potentially more suspicious for child abuse. A review of femur fractures can be found here. A review of non-accidental trauma can be found here. Learning Point Irritability has different meanings to different people and in the context they are used. Irritability in the medical sense is thought to be caused by the body being abnormally excited or sensitive causing the child to have exaggerated or excessive crying. The inability to be soothed usually helps to differentiate the child who is more accurately described as fussy or hard to please, bothered or is burdensome or troublesome, or even cranky or ill-tempered and grouchy. An irritable child who is also lethargic (i.e. having abnormal drowsiness or sleepiness) is much more clinically concerning than a child who is fussy and tired or fatigued. Some problems may be more common in certain age groups but many can be found in all age groups. The differential diagnosis of irritability includes: Neonatal Norm...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news