[Assessment of the selection and usefulness of diagnostic examinations for children with mental retardation].
We retrospectively investigated medical records of 196 patients suspected of having mental retardation at their initial visits. The objective of the study was to clarify the current choice of medical examinations and to assess their usefulness. Frequently selected examinations included 1. neuroimaging, neurophysiology and other central nervous system examinations, 2. psychological examinations and 3. blood tests. The former two demonstrated abnormal results very frequently. Genetic examinations rarely showed abnormal results. On the contrary, chromosomal analysis was often useful for diagnosing diseases that are difficult to be made only by clinical symptoms. Physicians should provide patients and their families with information about medical examinations currently available and useful.
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006403:Hematologic Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies