Documentation of growth parameters and body mass index in a paediatric hospital.

BACKGROUND: New recommendations suggest that the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts and body mass index (BMI) for age be used for Canadian children. Little information is available on how often growth parameters are documented in hospital settings. OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of documentation of growth parameters in the medical records of a tertiary care paediatric hospital. METHODS: A prospective, 14-day audit of 491 charts of children seen in the emergency department (ED) or admitted to a ward was performed to determine the frequency of documentation of height/length, weight, head circumference, BMI or weight for height, and presence of growth charts. Similar data were sought from the most recent clinic visit for all ward charts. RESULTS: Growth parameters, aside from weight, were infrequently documented in the medical record. Height/length was documented in no ED charts and in 42% of ward charts. BMI or weight for height were almost never found, and growth charts were present in only 23% of ward charts, one clinic chart and one ED chart. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of documentation of growth parameters in the teaching hospital setting were unacceptably low. Implementation of the use of the 2000 CDC growth charts will require not only education regarding BMI but also steps to encourage more regular measurement of height and use of shared growth charts in all areas of the hospital. A simple conceptualization framework for health care providers to use as a counselling tool is presented.

Conceptualization of mild cognitive impairment: a review.

BACKGROUND: Several factors have prompted renewed interest in the concept of declines in cognitive function that occur in association with aging, in particular the area between normal cognition and dementia. We review the changing conceptualization of what has come to be known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in an effort to identify recent developments and highlight areas of controversy. METHODS: Standard MEDLINE search for relevant English-language publications on mild cognitive impairment and its associated terms, supplemented by hand searches of pertinent reference lists. RESULTS: Many conditions cause cognitive impairment which does not meet current criteria for dementia. Within this heterogenous group, termed 'Cognitive Impairment, No Dementia' (CIND), there are disorders associated with an increased risk of progression to dementia. Still, the conceptualization of these latter disorders remains in flux, with variability around assumptions about aging, the relationship between impairment and disease, and how concomitant functional impairment is classified. Amongst patients with MCI, especially its amnestic form, many will progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD). In contrast with clinic-based studies, where progression is more uniform, population-based studies suggest that the MCI classification is unstable in that context. In addition to Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (AMCI), other syndromes exist and can progress to dementia. For example, an identifiable group with vascular cognitive impairment without dementia shows a higher risk of progression to vascular dementia, Alzheimer's disease and mixed dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Recent attempts to profile patients at an increased risk of dementia suggest that this can be done in skilled hands, especially in people whose symptoms prompt them to seek medical attention. Whether these people actually have early AD remains to be determined. The more narrowly defined MCI profiles need to be understood in a population context of CIND.

Determinants of physical fitness in children with asthma.

RATIONALE: This study was designed to examine the relationships among weight, asthma severity, physical activity, and aerobic fitness in children with asthma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty-four asthmatic children 8 to 12 years old (53% female) were assessed while attending a summer asthma camp. Measures included height and weight, spirometry, histamine bronchial provocation challenge, maximal aerobic power, and questionnaires to quantify habitual activity, perceived activity limitations due to asthma, perceived competence in physical activity, and attitudes toward physical activity. Asthma severity was determined from spirometric indices (forced expiratory volume during the first second), degree of airway hyperresponsiveness, and amount of medication prescribed. RESULTS: There was no correlation between asthma severity and aerobic fitness. Only perceived competence at physical activity was found to have a significant correlation with aerobic fitness. Appropriate-weight, overweight, or obese (defined by body mass index) children all had similar results for maximum aerobic power and level of habitual activity. However, overweight or obese children reported greater limitation of physical activity. Their asthma-impairment scores were higher than the scores of appropriate-weight peers, although standard measures of pulmonary function were no different among groups. The higher asthma-severity scores were related to greater medication needs in the overweight or obese children with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Lower maximum aerobic power in asthmatic children is related more to how capable they perceive themselves than to asthma severity. Overweight asthmatic children experience greater limitation of physical activity and thus are prescribed more medication, although by standard measures of asthma severity, they are very similar to normal-weight peers with asthma. Efforts should be directed at understanding the reasons responsible for reduced exercise tolerance before escalating pharmacologic treatment.