Failure to Thrive Diagnosis
Aka: Failure to Thrive Diagnosis
II. Precautions
- Defining whether a child’s growth is normal is difficult due to conflicting guidelines and growth curves
- Diagnosis relies on accurately recorded weight and height on growth chart over time
III. Evaluation: Initial Criteria (expect False Positives)
- Weight for age <5th percentile for gender (or BMI for age <5th percentile, or weight/length <5th percentile)
- Weight deceleration that crosses 2 or more major percentile lines
IV. Evaluation: Re-evaluate growth in relation to normal modifiers of growth pattern
- Growth may be adequate for genetic predisposition or Breast Feeding versus Bottle Feeding
- See Resources under Weight Measurement in Children (particular attention to WHO growth curves)
- Interpret trends (3rd percentile may be normal if always following 3rd percentile)
- Consider using modified growth charts
- Prematurity
- Ethnicity
- Down’s Syndrome
- Turner’s Syndrome
V. Evaluation: Further evaluate with most specific indicators of abnormal growth
- Weight <75% of median Weight for Length
- Weight Velocity <5th percentile
VI. Resources
- CDC Growth Charts (includes WHO charts for under age 2 years)