Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in children can range from small amounts of blood in the stool, associated with milk protein allergy or anal fissure, to life-threatening hemorrhage, associated with portal hypertension…

Proteinuria can be detected by various means, and the most common is the dipstick test, a calorimetric assay that spots only albumin and not low-molecular-weight proteins. In addition, alkaline urine…

Constipation is defined symptomatically as the infrequent passage of hard stools, straining while passing a stool, or pain associated with the passage of a hard stool. The range of normal…

Hematuria is a common issue faced by primary physicians who care for children. While it can cause great anxiety in the patient and family when it presents as gross hematuria,…

Dysuria is defined as painful urination and can be related to uncomfortable contraction of the muscles of the bladder or when urine comes into contact with the inflamed genitourinary mucosa….

Hepatomegaly occurs commonly in children as a feature of primary liver disease or as a result of systemic disorders involving the liver and other organs ( Table 14.1 ). Because…

Diarrhea is defined as a stool volume of greater than 10 g/kg/day in infants and toddlers and greater than 200 g/day in older children. Functionally, diarrhea should be considered if a patient…

Calories from food provide energy for the body’s maintenance functions of repair, regulation, metabolic functions, replacement of losses, and daily activity. Children have additional caloric requirements because they must also…

Most heart murmurs are normal or innocent, and must be distinguished from pathologic murmurs of congenital or acquired cardiac diseases. Whereas less than 1% of the population has structural congenital…

Dizziness is a common but very nonspecific chief complaint about which some elaboration by the patient is generally required for the physician to understand exactly what the patient is experiencing….