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Can Patent Foramen Ovales Cause Problems?
Discussion During fetal development, the heart primum and secundum septa grow and overlap leaving a small but important channel between the two atria. The foramen ovale is a flap valve moving blood from the right atrium into the left atrium directly and bypassing the high pressure pulmonary system. After birth and breathing air, the neonate’s lungs open up and the pulmonary vascular resistance decreases. The left atrium now has a relatively higher pressure than the right atria, and therefore pressure on the flap valve closes the foramen ovale. Usually within 6-12 months, the fusion of the primum and secundum of the f...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - July 24, 2023 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

What Causes Facial Nerve Palsy?
Discussion Facial nerve palsy has been known for centuries, but in 1821 unilateral facial nerve paralysis was described by Sir Charles Bell. Bell’s palsy (BP) is a unilateral, acute facial paralysis that is clinically diagnosed after other etiologies have been excluded by appropriate history, physical examination and/or laboratory testing or imaging. Symptoms include abnormal movement of facial nerve. It can be associated with changes in facial sensation, hearing, taste or excessive tearing. The right and left sides are equally affected but bilateral BP is rare (0.3%). Paralysis can be complete or incomplete at prese...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - June 3, 2019 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

What Causes Muscle Weakness?
Discussion Muscle tone is the slight tension that is felt in a muscle when it is voluntarily relaxed. It can be assessed by asking the patient to relax and then taking the muscles through a range of motion such as moving the wrists, forearm and upper arm. Muscle strength is the muscle’s force against active resistance. Impaired strength is called weakness or paresis. There are 5 levels of muscle strength. 0 = No muscle contraction detected 1 = Barely detected flicker of contraction 2 = Active movement with gravity eliminated 3 = Active movement against gravity 4 = Active movement against gravity and some resistance ...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - December 9, 2013 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

When Can A Child Start Strength Training?
Discussion Exercise is an important part of health and daily life. A review of recommendations for general exercise for children and adults can be found here. Many people use pedometers as a marker of their activity and a list of activities and their equivalent steps can be found here. The benefits of strength training includes improved performance, injury prevention and rehabilitation, improved cardiovascular fitness, improved bone mineral density, improved blood lipid profiles and mental health. Improvements in strength can be found in properly structured programs of at least 8 weeks duration occurring at least 1-2 time...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - May 12, 2014 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

What Are the Essential Amino Acids and How Much Protein Do I Need?
Discussion Vegetarians have a diet pattern that emphasizes consuming plant foods (i.e. vegetables, grains and nuts) and avoiding flesh food (i.e. red meat, poultry, fish). Some vegetarians include milk and egg products in their diets and would be more accurately described as lacto-ova-vegetarians. Vegans are vegetarians who avoid all animal products including foods such as dairy products, eggs, butter, honey and gelatin. One of the most common questions that vegetarian are asked is about how they obtain enough protein from their diets. In general, a mixed diet of a variety of foods with appropriate calories should provide...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - September 29, 2014 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

What Causes Microcephaly?
Discussion Microcephaly is usually defined as an occipitofrontal head circumference (OFC) more than 2 standard deviations (SD) below the mean for sex, age and ethnicity. Severe microcephaly is used for OFC < 3 standard deviations. Rates of microcephaly range from 0.5-12 patients/10,000 live births. The OFC should be measured at every well child visit and at other opportunities and plotted on standard growth charts. The OFC is measured using a nonelastic tape measure around the largest part of the head with the tape measure held above the eyebrows and ears. It is a highly reproducible measurement. There are several diff...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - September 25, 2017 Category: Pediatrics Authors: pediatriceducationmin Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

What Are the Main Acyanotic Congenital Heart Diseases?
Discussion Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are malformations of the heart and great vessels. It occurs in about 5-8/1000 live births. Cyanotic congenital heart disease is often noted perinatally because of cyanosis, respiratory distress and/or poor feeding or other distress type problems. A review can be found here. Acyanotic congenital heart disease (ACHD) can present at birth but often is seen in older children or adults unless the lesions are severe, especially obstructive lesions. Severe lesions may also cause cyanosis and distress type problems in patients also. Shunting lesions cause problems by diverting blood flo...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - August 17, 2020 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

How Common are Aortic Aneurysms?
Discussion Aortic root dilatation or thoracic aortic aneurysm occurs in 6:100,000 individuals > 50 years of age. It is due to aging, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking. Tertiary syphilis was a cause in the preantibiotic era. Pediatric aneurysms are very uncommon but the exact prevalence is different due to the various causes. Aneurysms are due to genetic disorders, congenital anomalies or post-surgical repair. In pediatric patients with sudden cardiac deaths, 5.4% are due to ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysms. Learning Point Some causes of pediatric aneurysms include: Familial thoracic aneurysm and dissect...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - February 22, 2021 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news

Polyuria, Polydipsia and Possible Diabetes Insipidus?
Discussion The body is smart. It has mechanisms for maintaining balances within the body in a closely controlled manner but allows for a variety of states. This is very true for fluid balance in the body which is highly controlled between almost all of the major body organ systems. When fluid is low, the sensor sends signals for us to drink, and conserves fluid until we can. When the fluid is high, the kidneys excrete the excess and sends signals not to drink. Usually it works very well. While there are many pathological states that can cause polyuria and/or polydipsia, the most common reason is excessive fluid intake beca...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - March 7, 2022 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Pediatric Education Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news