Paediatrics

Chapter 30 Paediatrics




OVERVIEW OF PAEDIATRIC CONSIDERATIONS


Working with children can be extremely rewarding, but it is very different from treating adults. Children often face very different medical conditions to adults and require specialised care. Practitioners need to be aware of children’s special needs, the sensitivity of the child, and the child’s parents and their siblings. While many childhood conditions can be treated in the family home, it is wise to seek the help of medical intervention when a condition is worsening, and to do so as soon as possible because children (especially babies) can become gravely ill quite quickly. Conversely, they can recover quickly once appropriate intervention is commenced. Children’s immune systems and nervous systems develop rapidly, and this also needs to be considered at all times when embarking on any health intervention.


The terminology for the classification of the paediatric patient is used in this chapter according to the definitions given at the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH).1 The ICH recommended age should be classified in completed days, months or years following the stage categories of:







The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a ‘minor’ as anyone under the age of 18 years.2


The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in paediatric treatment is prevalent.35 Studies have shown that the use of one or more CAM therapies for treatment of children range between 20 and 70% of cases. The rates for general paediatric patients are 20–30%, for adolescents 30–70% and for paediatric patients with chronic or recurrent conditions, including those considered to be incurable, 30–70%.3,4 CAM practices used most commonly for children include infant massage, general massage and vitamin and herbal therapies. Demographic data for paediatric treatment reflect that seen in generalised populations, showing that the parents of children being given CAM therapies are often more educated and affluent. They choose to use CAM because they believe it is natural, lower cost, more effective, has been recommended by family or friends, are worried about possible side effects of conventional therapies, or conventional therapies have failed them in the past.3,4,6



Ethical and legal considerations


Cohen and Kemper raised some questions about the clinically appropriate use of CAM in paediatrics.5 They suggested that the non-judicious use of various CAM therapies may cause direct harm (or indirect harm) by creating an unwarranted financial and emotional burden. They recommended a series of questions that practitioners treating paediatric patients could ask when deciding how to advise patients on the use of CAM. These questions are:







As the body of evidence concerning CAM increases, there will be more proof (or otherwise) as to the efficacy and safety of certain CAM therapies and these ethical considerations will become less clouded.


Cohen and Kemper also concluded that paediatric use of CAM therapies may raise legal as well as clinical concerns.5 A cautious yet balanced approach ideally can help guide the specialised paediatric naturopath towards clinical advice (including referral) that is clinically responsible, ethically appropriate and legally defensible. Employing such an approach—one that embraces both clinical and legal concerns—can help to protect the child’s welfare as new parameters for integrative health care unfold.


Most research on CAM therapies is being conducted on adults and may therefore not be directly applicable to paediatric populations. There are some specific considerations that need to be made when looking at the particular aspects of conducting clinical trials on the paediatric population. These include the ongoing changes to children’s bodies (their metabolism and developmental stage), their changing social relationships and their vulnerability and dependence upon others.


Until there are much more reliable research data on CAM in paediatric populations, practitioners will need to continue to extrapolate data and adjust the adult information to the child, being mindful of the child’s unique circumstances.



PAEDIATRIC MEDICATION CONSIDERATIONS


The consensus is that children do not equate to small adults.7 There are marked differences in pathology, physiology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics between children and adults.810 The efficacy of a medication depends on the practitioner selecting an appropriate preparation, calculating the correct dosage and motivating the family to ensure regular administration.11


There are some important considerations when deciding the dose of medications at different life stages. Drugs are metabolised very differently in neonates and children compared to adults. Absorption is affected by differences in gastric acid secretion, bile salt formation, gastric emptying, intestinal motility and microflora.7 These are mostly reduced in a neonate and may also be reduced—though sometimes raised—in an ill child. The distribution of the volume of drugs in children can change with age because of the differences in the body’s composition of minerals, lipids, proteins and water (see Figure 30.1 below); plasma protein binding capacity also changes with age. Drug elimination can be longer in babies than adults. So, when medicating babies and children less than 12 years old, body weight and age should be considered.8 (See Table 30.1 with formulas below.)



Table 30.1 Calculating medication dosages12,13


































AGE RULE FORMULA
Birth to 12 months Ausberger’s rule image
1–2 years Fried’s rule (or Ausberger’s rule) image
2–12 years Young’s rule or image
  Ausberger’s rule or image
  Clarke’s rule image
12–16 years Ausberger’s rule image
16+ years Unless the teenager is of small stature, adult doses may be considered.

Individual practitioners will have a preference for one formula over another when selecting a dose for children. Table 30.1 can be used to guide those in doubt when considering a herbal formula. Ausberger’s rule and Clarke’s rule for calculations of paediatric doses of medications are based on weight as opposed to age and may be more suitable to allow for the faster metabolism of children at certain ages.12 Fried’s rule and Young’s rule are based on age alone.



Hepatic metabolism


Medications are metabolised by enzymatic and metabolic reactions. Phase I activity for drug metabolism is reduced in neonates, increases progressively during the first 6 months of life, slows during adolescence, and usually attains adult rates by late puberty.8,9 Neonates metabolise medications much more slowly than adults do. By 6 months of age the immature reactions involving acetylation, glucuronidation and conjugation with amino acids have matured to adult levels.9 The metabolic pathways for phase II reactions reach adult levels by 3–4 years of age.9,1416



Digestive flora


Colonisation of the gastrointestinal tract begins at birth and is usually established by week 1. The type of microorganism will depend on hygiene and diet. Bifidobacterium is the most prolific organism in a breastfed baby.13 It is estimated that the number of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in newborns is up to a total of 1010/g wet weight.17 Implications of this altered flora are discussed in the chapters on irritable bowel syndrome, atopic skin disorders and asthma.




Herbal medicine in children


The conditions encountered in paediatric practice may be different from those encountered in general practice (for example, otitis media and colic). Therefore the herbal medicines most commonly used will also differ. Table 30.4 outlines common paediatric conditions and herbal medicines used to treat these conditions.


Table 30.4 Commonly used herbs in paediatrics according to herbal tradition13,18,2125



























































MAIN CONDITIONS MAIN TREATMENT ACTIONS COMMON HERBS
Infants and toddlers    
Colic Carminative


Common cold







Constipation






Children    
Respiratory tract infections













Fever



Allergy Antiallergy Albizzia lebbeck, Scutellaria baicalensis
Asthma







Adolescents    
Acne







Warts



Stress









COMPLIANCE ISSUES




Children


Children of all ages need to be given positive feedback on their progress and positive attitudes. Realistic goals should be set to increase the likelihood of compliance—for example, in the case of planned weight loss, planning to lose 1 of 10 kg by the next follow-up consultation if on a weight-loss plan, or having three different-coloured vegetables at least four times a week if diversifying their foods has been recommended.8


If changes to lifestyle such as dietary changes or physical activities and exercise have been recommended, the instructions given to the family should be simplified, and introduced incrementally where possible (an important exception to this would be the need to immediately remove a highly allergic food such as peanuts in children who have experienced an anaphylactic reaction to the peanuts or other dangerous or life-threatening situations).


Young children may find it difficult to swallow pills and may dislike the taste of tablets and liquids. A child disliking the taste of medication is a common problem and may result in most of the liquid herbal formula not being ingested by the time they return for the next consultation. By explaining ways of taking the medications or having a printed handout with suggestions the naturopath may minimise the non-compliance. Supplements and medications can be crushed where possible and added to other palatable foods, or mixed with a little apple or pear concentrate. Alternatively, as with liquid medications, they can be frozen into little ice blocks with a pleasant-tasting juice or fruit concentrate, and then they can be chipped into smaller pieces and easily swallowed.

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Jul 18, 2017 | Posted by in GENERAL SURGERY | Comments Off on Paediatrics

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