Short stature (usually defined as height >2 standard deviations [SD] below the mean for age) and growth failure (a subnormal height velocity that leads to a decline in growth percentiles,…

Two-thirds of all children visit a physician for fever before they reach the age of 2 years. Fever in the pediatric population is usually grouped into 4 categories: • Fever…

Urinary incontinence is a normal developmental stage. When present beyond a certain age defined by parental and societal expectations, it can cause concern and anxiety in the patient and family….

Puberty is defined by both biologic and social standards. Puberty is the time when there is an increase in sex steroid production, resulting in physical changes such as breast development…

Introduction Pallor, a perceptible reduction in the usual color and tone of the skin and/or mucosa, may result from alterations of cutaneous blood flow, anemia, or unknown mechanisms. Under normal…

Given the role of the lymphatic system in developing adaptive responses to numerous antigenic challenges and the rate at which the immune system is exposed to novel antigens early in…

Most gait disturbances are benign and resolve with normal growth and development. Others are pathologic in origin and necessitate treatment ( Table 34.1 ). TABLE 34.1 Causes of Gait Disturbances…

Muscle Weakness and Hypotonia (See Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, p. 3397.) Hypotonia, or abnormally diminished muscle tone, is defined as decreased resistance to passive movement of a limb through its…

The immune system functions to prevent and retard the local establishment or systemic dissemination of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. Furthermore, it must accomplish this task without excessive inflammation or…

Hypoglycemia, although rare in children beyond the newborn period, is an acute, life-threatening medical emergency that may result in seizures, permanent brain damage, or even sudden death. In addition, hypoglycemia…