2.1 The clinical consultation Mike South, Sean A. Beggs The clinical consultation is the central act of medicine, with its primary aim being to arrive at a diagnosis and management…

19.5 Bone mineral disorders Colin Jones, Joshua Kausman Hypocalcaemia, rickets and hypercalcaemia are the most common manifestations of disorders of calcium, phosphate and vitamin D metabolism. Disorders of magnesium metabolism…

10.1 Birth defects, prenatal diagnosis and teratogens Jan Liebelt, Neil Hotham Birth defects A birth defect is any abnormality, structural or functional, identified at any age, that began before birth,…

11.4 Congenital and perinatal infections Mike Starr Introduction Infections in the fetus and newborn (perinatal infections) may be acquired in utero (congenital infection), around the time of delivery or in…

12.2 Bone and joint infections Jonathan Carapetis, Andrew Steer Introduction Infections of bones (osteomyelitis) and joints (septic arthritis) can occur at any age but are much more common in children…

3.3 Nutrition Zoe McCallum, Julie Bines Practical points • Nutrition in childhood, starting from in utero, is a key determinant of a child’s growth and development, and future adult health…

3.4 Obesity Louise A. Baur Introduction Paediatric obesity is a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. Obese children and adolescents may suffer from a host of…

20.4 Gastro-oesophageal reflux and Helicobacter pylori infection Paul Hammond, Geoffrey Davidson This chapter discusses gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR), a very common clinical problem in infants and children, and Helicobacter pylori, an…

3.11 Care of the adolescent Susan Sawyer, Andrew Kennedy What is adolescence? Adolescence describes the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood. The World Health Organization defines the ages of an…

4.4 Major psychiatric disorders Brett McDermott The major psychiatric disorders are characterized by relatively specific symptomatology and functional impairment in the family, social and educational domains. The primary care physician’s…