Diagnosis on a positive fashion of nonorganic failure to thrive.
OBJECTIVE
To study the predictive value of predefined symptoms and signs for allocating children into one of two groups: nonorganic and organic failure to thrive.


METHODS
Two hundred eight outpatients (6 months-14 years old) suffering from failure to thrive (FTT) were included in the study. Predefined symptoms and signs were considered as potential predictors of organic/nonorganic failure to thrive. All patients underwent an established diagnostic work up in order to exclude organic causes of FTT.


RESULTS
The percentage of patients without any organic symptom (negative predictive value), who were diagnosed as NOFTT was 92%; the percentage of patients having nonorganic symptoms only (positive predictive value), who were diagnosed as NOFTT was 96%, while their absence does not exclude a NOFTT diagnosis as well (negative predictive value = 41%).


CONCLUSIONS
The detection of at least one nonorganic symptom or sign, with the exclusion of any organic symptom, can support a diagnosis of nonorganic FTT and therefore only few laboratory investigations seem to be warranted.
Panetta
Fabio
F
Cystic Fibrosis and Paediatric Gastroenterology Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Magazzù
Domenico
D
Sferlazzas
Concetta
C
Lombardo
Mariangela
M
Magazzù
Giuseppe
G
Lucanto
Maria Cristina
MC
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005183:Failure to Thrive / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests