PAEDITRICS

Pediatrics (also spelled paediatrics or pædiatrics) is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends people be under pediatric care through the age of 21[1][2] (though usually only minors are required to be under pediatric care). In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers patients until age 18.[3] Worldwide age limits of pediatrics have been trending up year over year.[4] A medical doctor who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, or paediatrician. The word pediatrics and its cognates mean “healer of children”; they derive from two Greek words: παῖς (pais “child”) and ἰατρός (iatros “doctor, healer”). Pediatricians work in hospitals and children’s hospitals particularly those working in its subspecialties (e.g. neonatology), and as outpatient primary care physicians.

Differences between adult and pediatric medicine

The body size differences are paralleled by maturation changes. The smaller body of an infant or neonate is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. Congenital defects, genetic variance, and developmental issues are of greater concern to pediatricians than they often are to adult physicians. A common adage is that children are not simply “little adults”. The clinician must take into account the immature physiology of the infant or child when considering symptoms, prescribing medications, and diagnosing illnesses.

Pediatric physiology directly impacts the pharmacokinetic properties of drugs that enter the body. The absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination of medications differ between developing children and grown adults Despite completed studies and reviews, continual research is needed to better understand how these factors should affect the decisions of healthcare providers when prescribing and administering medications to the pediatric population