Paediatrics
The unwell child, neonatal problems, development and safeguarding.
- The Febrile Child The NICE traffic light system, which investigations each risk category needs, and the antipyretic and safety-netting advice that carries the marks.
- Bronchiolitis Why it is a disease of infant airway calibre, the NICE referral thresholds and oxygen targets, and the long list of treatments that do not work.
- Croup Grading severity without distressing the child, dexamethasone for every case whatever the severity, and when nebulised adrenaline buys time.
- Epiglottitis How it differs from croup, why the throat must not be examined, and the sequence for securing the airway in theatre.
- Whooping Cough The three phases and why they determine which test to send, the 21-day antibiotic window, and the case for maternal vaccination.
- Scarlet Fever Recognising the sandpaper rash and strawberry tongue, why the penicillin course is ten days, and which complications antibiotics do and do not prevent.
- Viral Exanthems Measles, rubella, slapped cheek, roseola, chickenpox and hand foot and mouth side by side, with the school exclusion rules for each.
- Kawasaki Disease The diagnostic criteria and their incomplete variant, the ten-day window for IVIG, and why aspirin is used in a child under 16.
- Childhood Asthma The 2024 BTS/NICE/SIGN diagnostic pathway and MART-based ladder, plus grading and treating an acute attack and what must happen before discharge.
- Febrile Convulsions Simple versus complex, when a lumbar puncture is needed, why antipyretics do not prevent recurrence, and the risk of later epilepsy.
- Neonatal Jaundice Why the age at onset decides the differential, the treatment threshold charts, and how prolonged jaundice uncovers biliary atresia.
- Prematurity Antenatal steroids and magnesium, the complications of each organ system traced to its immaturity, and survival by gestation.
- Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Why alveolar development arrests, the 36-week definition and severity grades, and the trade-off around postnatal dexamethasone.
- Necrotising Enterocolitis The four converging mechanisms, reading pneumatosis and free gas on the film, Bell staging, and why breast milk halves the risk.
- Neonatal Surgical Emergencies The three warning signs, the stabilisation sequence common to all of them, and the specific manoeuvres that make each condition worse.
- Biliary Atresia Why a thriving jaundiced baby needs a split bilirubin, what the stool colour tells you, and the 60-day window for the Kasai procedure.
- Pyloric Stenosis The hypochloraemic hypokalaemic alkalosis and paradoxical aciduria explained, the ultrasound thresholds, and why surgery waits.
- Intussusception Recognising it before the redcurrant jelly appears, the target sign on ultrasound, and the contraindications to air enema reduction.
- Mesenteric Adenitis How it differs from appendicitis, what ultrasound must show before you accept the label, and when to revisit the diagnosis.
- Cow's Milk Protein Allergy IgE versus non-IgE presentations, choosing between hydrolysed and amino acid formula, and reintroducing milk with the ladder.
- Faltering Growth The NG75 centile thresholds, reading the pattern of weight, length and head circumference, and how often to weigh.
- Cerebral Palsy Motor subtypes and GMFCS levels, the associated problems that cause most of the burden, and the features that exclude the diagnosis.
- Childhood Cancer The NG12 referral thresholds by presentation, the oncological emergencies, and the late effects survivors carry into adult life.
- Cryptorchidism Retractile versus undescended, why imaging is unhelpful, the 6-12 month surgical window, and the fertility and malignancy risks.
- Developmental Milestones The four domains, median ages set against the limit ages that actually trigger referral, primitive reflexes, and the patterns that point to a diagnosis.
- Child Safeguarding and Non-Accidental Injury The features that should raise concern, the medical mimics that must be considered, what to document, and exactly who to tell and when.
- Paediatric Basic and Advanced Life Support Why paediatric arrest is hypoxic, the BLS sequence with five rescue breaths and 15:2, weight-based drug doses, the 4 Hs and 4 Ts, and choking.
- Fluid and Drug Prescribing in Children Maintenance by the 4/2/1 rule, why hypotonic fluids were withdrawn, calculating deficit and boluses, and the weight-based prescribing traps.