Livingstone-Sinclair Keisha, Scott Charmaine, Trotman Helen
1 Paediatric Resident, Bustamante Hospital for Children, Kingston, Jamaica.
2 Consultant Paediatrician, Bustamante Hospital for Children, Kingston, Jamaica.
Trop Doct. 2018 Oct;48(4):301-305. doi: 10.1177/0049475518788468. Epub 2018 Aug 16.
Health surveillance of children with Down's syndrome may be inadequate. We aimed to assess adherence to health management guidelines at the main paediatric hospital in Jamaica. Ours was a retrospective descriptive study over a five-year period. Data on demographics, co-morbidities, investigations, referrals and interventions were recorded. Of 41 children included in the study, 85% were diagnosed in the neonatal period. Congenital heart disease in 29 (76%) and ophthalmological disorders in 13/24 (54%) were the most common co-morbidities. Evaluations in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines were carried out in only 46% of the children for echocardiography, 48% for ophthalmology, 30% for hearing evaluation and 10% for neonatal thyroid screening. Thus, the recommended guidelines were not carried out in a timely manner in the majority of the children. Education of healthcare providers and caregivers along with the provision of adequate resources may help to resolve this inadequacy.
对唐氏综合征患儿的健康监测可能不足。我们旨在评估牙买加主要儿科医院对健康管理指南的遵守情况。我们进行了一项为期五年的回顾性描述性研究。记录了有关人口统计学、合并症、检查、转诊和干预措施的数据。在纳入研究的41名儿童中，85%在新生儿期被诊断出。最常见的合并症是29例（76%）患有先天性心脏病，13/24例（54%）患有眼科疾病。只有46%的儿童按照美国儿科学会指南进行了超声心动图评估，48%进行了眼科评估，30%进行了听力评估，10%进行了新生儿甲状腺筛查。因此，大多数儿童未及时执行推荐的指南。对医疗服务提供者和护理人员进行教育并提供充足资源可能有助于解决这一不足。
