Social Determinants of Health and the Role of Routine Pediatric Care in a Medically Complex Toddler. 2020

Karen Cuttin, and Caitlin Neri, and Margot Tang, and Jocelyn Kuhn, and Kerry Pearl, and Marilyn Augustyn
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.

Late on a Friday afternoon, a new family presents to your practice for urgent care. They come with their youngest child Mai, a 2-year-old girl, who, although born in the United States at 36 weeks gestation, has resided in Laos with her grandparents for the past 16 months. Your triage nurse tells you that she has a fever and was found to have profound anemia while at the WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) office earlier today.On walking into the room, you describe Mai as "listless" and "sickly." Her vitals were notable for fever (102°F), tachycardia (140 beats per minute), and tachypnea (35 breaths per minute). On physical examination, she was grunting with a systolic ejection murmur and without hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory test results revealed hemoglobin of 2.2 g/dL, hematocrit of 12%, mean corpuscular volume of 50 fL, red cell distribution width of 27%, reticulocyte count of 3%, ferritin of <2 ng/mL, iron of 15 μg/dL, total iron binding count of 420 μg/dL, white blood cell count of 13.5 K/μL, and platelets of 605 K/μL. Her evaluation was consistent with severe iron deficiency anemia (IDA), which was further supported by reported restrictive diet and excessive cow milk intake of 35 ounces daily. She was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in high-output cardiac failure and was slowly transfused with 15 mL/kg of packed red blood cells over 2 days with careful monitoring. Once stabilized, she was transferred to the inpatient floor for further nutritional evaluation and supplementation. Additional workup, including hemoglobin electrophoresis, fecal occult blood test, celiac studies, and stool parasite testing were normal. The clinical picture was consistent with a viral infection in the setting of profound IDA and malnutrition.Although her clinical status had improved, she remained inpatient for nutritional optimization. Her height was at the 54th percentile (z-score: 0.11), weight was at the first percentile (z-score: -2.25), and body mass index was below the first percentile (z-score: -3.18), diagnostic of severe protein-calorie malnutrition. She was evaluated by an interdisciplinary growth and nutrition team, received multivitamin and mineral supplements, and was monitored for refeeding syndrome. She was noted to be "difficult to engage," "resistant to new faces," and made little progress on expanding her dietary choices. Concerns about a possible diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder were raised by her treating team. What would you do next? 1. Bouma S. Diagnosing pediatric malnutrition: paradigm shifts of etiology-related definitions and appraisal of the indicators. Nutr Clin Pract. 2017;32:52-67.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002417 Cattle Domesticated bovine animals of the genus Bos, usually kept on a farm or ranch and used for the production of meat or dairy products or for heavy labor. Beef Cow,Bos grunniens,Bos indicus,Bos indicus Cattle,Bos taurus,Cow,Cow, Domestic,Dairy Cow,Holstein Cow,Indicine Cattle,Taurine Cattle,Taurus Cattle,Yak,Zebu,Beef Cows,Bos indicus Cattles,Cattle, Bos indicus,Cattle, Indicine,Cattle, Taurine,Cattle, Taurus,Cattles, Bos indicus,Cattles, Indicine,Cattles, Taurine,Cattles, Taurus,Cow, Beef,Cow, Dairy,Cow, Holstein,Cows,Dairy Cows,Domestic Cow,Domestic Cows,Indicine Cattles,Taurine Cattles,Taurus Cattles,Yaks,Zebus
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067877 Autism Spectrum Disorder Wide continuum of associated cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders, including, but not limited to, three core-defining features: impairments in socialization, impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors. (from DSM-V) Autistic Spectrum Disorder,Autism Spectrum Disorders,Autistic Spectrum Disorders,Disorder, Autistic Spectrum
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D044342 Malnutrition An imbalanced nutritional status resulting from insufficient intake of nutrients to meet normal physiological requirement. Malnourishment,Nutritional Deficiency,Undernutrition,Malnourishments,Nutritional Deficiencies
D018798 Anemia, Iron-Deficiency Anemia characterized by decreased or absent iron stores, low serum iron concentration, low transferrin saturation, and low hemoglobin concentration or hematocrit value. The erythrocytes are hypochromic and microcytic and the iron binding capacity is increased. Iron-Deficiency Anemia,Anemias, Iron-Deficiency,Iron-Deficiency Anemias,Anemia, Iron Deficiency,Anemias, Iron Deficiency,Iron Deficiency Anemia,Iron Deficiency Anemias
D064890 Social Determinants of Health The circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics (http://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/). Commercial Determinants of Health,Socio-Economic Determinants of Health,Structural Determinants of Health,Socio Economic Determinants of Health

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