Focus on behavioural problems in children

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 18. Paediatricians were today advised to reassess children presenting with acute behavioural problems as the possible cause for the predicament could range from infections to accidental poisoning.

Participating in a one-day Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme, experts pointed out that children who were victims of accidental poisoning tended to develop acute behavioural problems which could range from agitated or confused state, irritability, acathisia (inability to sit still), drowsiness or secondary coma.

Paediatricians were advised to resort to chemical analysis as a routine measure while coming across cases with these classic features. It was pointed out that in such instances the evaluation of patient history would not tally with the clinical features associated with behavioural problems.

According to experts, acute behavioural problems, as opposed to chronic problems, were commonly caused by infections such as Japanese Encephalitis or Herpes Simplex, or accidental iatrogenic (drug-induced) poisoning.

The CME was organised by the Department of Paediatric Neurology, SAT Hospital, as part of a series of education programmes coinciding with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the hospital.

The workshop was aimed at familiarising SAT paediatricians with the advanced procedures and diagnostics in paediatric neurology, already available or shortly-to-be-introduced, at the hospital. While the hospital already has facilities such as EEG and EMG machines, an `evoked potential' measurement equipment (to trace hearing and vision impairment to involvement of brain disorders, is expected to be installed by the end of March.

Earlier, Dr. V.G. Chellam, Principal, Medical College, inaugurated the CME.

Among those who presented papers were Dr. P.A. Mohammed Kunju, Head of Paediatric Neurology, SAT Hospital, (`Symptomatic approach to a child with altered sensorium'), Dr. V.V. Radhakrishnan, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), (`Intractable epilepsy: Pathological perspectives') and Dr. Thomas Iype, Head of Department of Neurology, Thrissur Medical College (`Vertigo and dizziness in children').

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Section  : Southern States
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