'Failure to thrive' or the failure to define

Smith and Berenberg wrote a commentary, "The Concept of Failure to Thrive," in these pages in 1970.1 After recounting the history of the term, they added: "We hope that as a label it will not become indistinct or obscured by uncertainty as to its past, current, or future diagnostic im...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 1984-10, Vol.74 (4), p.559-559
Main Author: Stickler, G B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child
Failure to Thrive
Humans
Terminology as Topic
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Summary:Smith and Berenberg wrote a commentary, "The Concept of Failure to Thrive," in these pages in 1970.1 After recounting the history of the term, they added: "We hope that as a label it will not become indistinct or obscured by uncertainty as to its past, current, or future diagnostic implications." Their warning was appropriate, but numerous authors have failed to accept their concern. Failure to thrive is assigned as a diagnosis to many children. To some physicians, it means that a child fails to gain weight; others intend it to include failure to grow. It is widely assumed that a failure to gain entails inevitably a failure to grow.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.74.4.559