Referral Patterns of Children with Poor Growth
Author Information
Author(s): Grote Floor K, Oostdijk Wilma, De Muinck Keizer-Schrama Sabine MPF, Dekker Friedo W, van Dommelen Paula, van Buuren Stef, Lodder-van der Kooij Adry M, Verkerk Paul H, Wit Jan Maarten
Primary Institution: Leiden University Medical Center
Hypothesis
How do different referral guidelines affect the number of children referred for short stature in primary health care?
Conclusion
The Dutch consensus guideline leads to too many referrals for short stature, while the UK guideline results in far fewer referrals but may miss some clinically relevant growth disorders.
Supporting Evidence
- Almost 80% of children would be referred under the Dutch guidelines.
- The UK guidelines resulted in only 0.3% referrals.
- The WHO criteria would lead to approximately 10% referrals.
Takeaway
This study looked at how many kids are sent to specialists for being short. It found that the Dutch rules send too many kids, while the UK rules send very few.
Methodology
A retrospective observational study analyzing growth data from a random sample of children using different referral guidelines.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to missing data and reliance on historical referral guidelines.
Limitations
The study relied on historical data and may not reflect current practices; also, parental height data was missing for a significant portion of the sample.
Participant Demographics
{"gender_distribution":{"male":199,"female":193},"ethnicity_distribution":{"Dutch/European":334,"Turkish":7,"Moroccan":7,"Others":44}}
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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