2. Objectives
• To define failure to thrive (FTT)
• To identify major classification of FTT
• To discuss diagnostic workup of FTT
• To discuss treatment of FTT

3. Failure to Thrive
• A descriptive term, not a specific diagnosis
• Failure to thrive (FTT) is the result of
inadequate usable calories necessary for a
child's metabolic and growth demands, and it
manifests as physical growth that is
significantly less than that of peers.

4. DEFINITIONS
• The best definition for FTT is the one that
refers to it as inadequate physical growth
diagnosed by observation of growth over time
using a standard growth chart, such as the
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
growth chart.

5. DEFINITION
• Weight below the third percentile for age on
the growth chart or more than two standard
deviations below the mean for children of the
same age and sex
• Weight-for age(weight-for-height) Z-score less
than minus two.
• Downward change in growth that has crossed
two major growth percentiles in a short time.

6. PITFALLS OF DEFINITIONS
• Using the third percentile for defining FTT
• In the first 2 years of life, the child’s weight
changes to follow the genetic predisposition of
the parent’s height and weight.
• During this time of transition,children with
familial short stature may cross percentiles
downward and still be considered normal.

7. Normal Variants

8. EPIDEMIOLOGY
• FTT affects 5–10% of young children and
approximately 3–5% of children admitted into
teaching hospitals
• Under-feeding is the single commonest cause
of FTT that results from parental poverty
and/or ignorance
• Ninety-five percent of cases of FTT are due to
inadequate food offered or taken.

9. CLASSIFICATION OF FTT
• Traditionally, causes of FTT have been
classified as nonorganic and organic.
• Based on pathophysiology,
(i) inadequate caloric intake;
(ii) inadequate absorption;
(iii) increased caloric requirement, and;
(iv) defective utilization of calories.

10. NON-ORGANIC (PSYCHOSOCIAL) FAILURE TO THRIVE
• It is due to poverty, psychosocial problems in the
family, maternal deprivation, lack of knowledge
and skill in infant nutrition among the caregivers.
• Other risk factors include substance abuse by
parents,single parenthood, general immaturity
of one or both parents, economic stress and
strain, temporary stresses such as family
tragedies or marital disharmony.

11. ORGANIC FAILURE TO THRIVE
• Infections (HIV, Tuberculosis, Parasitosis)
• Gastrointestinal (Chronic diarrhea, GERD)
• Neurological (Cerebral palsy, MR)
• Urinary tract infection is a major preventable
and treatable cause of FTT and all patients
presenting with FTT should be evaluated in
that regard.

12. CAUSES OF FAILURE TO THRIVE
• PRENATAL • POSTNATAL
 Prematurity  (i) inadequate caloric
 exposure in utero to intake;
toxic agents  (ii) inadequate
 intrauterine growth absorption;
restriction from any  (iii) increased caloric
cause requirement, and;
 (iv) defective utilization
of calories

13. EVALUATION OF A CHILD WITH FTT

14. HISTORY
LABOUR, DELIVERY, AND NEONATAL
PRENATAL EVENTS
• General obstetrical history • Neonatal asphyxia
• Recurrent miscarriages • Prematurity
• Use of medications, drugs, • Birth weight
or cigarettes • Congenital malformations
or infections
• Maternal bonding at birth
• Breastfeeding support
• Feeding difficulties during
neonatal period

15. Medical history of child Social history
• Regular physician • Age and occupation of parents
• Immunizations • Who feeds the child?
• Development • Life stressors (loss of job,
divorce, death in family)
• Medical or surgical illnesses
• Availability of social and
• Frequent infections economic support
• Perception of growth failure as
a problem
• History of violence or abuse of
care-giver

16. Nutritional history
• Details of breast feeding
• Vitamin and mineral supplements
• Solid foods
• food likes and dislikes, allergies or
idiosyncracies.

17. Review of systems/clues to organic
disease
• Anorexia
• Change in mental status
• Dysphagia
• Stooling pattern and consistency
• Vomiting or gastroesophageal reflux
• Recurrent fever
• Dysuria, urinary frequency
• Activity level, ability to keep up with peers

18. EXAMINATION
• Clues for a Psychosocial etiology
• Identification of dysmorphic features
• Detection of an underlying disease
• Signs of possible child abuse
• Severity of Malnutrition

19. POSSIBLE NON-ORGANIC FTT
• Evidence of neglected hygiene
• Diaper rash, unwashed skin
• Overgrown and dirty fingernails or dirty clothing
• Avoidance of eye contact, lack of facial expression
• Absence of cuddling response
• hypotonia and assumption of infantile posture
with clenched fists
• There may be marked preoccupation with thumb
sucking

20. Assessment of degree of FTT

21. Some more clues…
• If weight, height and head circumference are all
less than what is expected for age, this may
suggest an insult during intrauterine life or
genetic/chromosomal factors.
• If weight and height are delayed with a normal
head circumference, endocrinopathies or
constitutional growth retardation should be
suspected.
• When only weight gain is delayed, this usually
reflects recent energy deprivation.

22. Further evaluation
• Use of appropriate growth charts
• Developmental assessment
• Parent-child interaction
• Observation of feeding

23. LABORATORY EVALUATION
• Initial screening investigations and further
investigations as suggested by history and
physical examination

24. MANAGEMENT OF THE CHILD
WITH FAILURE TO THRIVE
• The child’s diet and eating pattern
• The child’s developmental stimulation
• Improvement in care-giver skills
• Presence of any underlying disease
• Regular and effective follow up

25. DIET AND EATING PATTERN
• Feeding interval should not be greater than four
hours and the maximum time allowed for
suckling should be 20 minutes.
• Eliminating distractive events
• Avoiding fruit juices
• For older infants and young children meals should
last for about 30 minutes, solid foods should be
offered before liquids, environmental distraction
should be minimized not be force-fed.

26. CATCH-UP GROWTH
• Gaining weight at a rate greater than 50th
percentile for the age.
• 1.5 to 2 times the expected calorie intake for
the age
• Energy-dense foods

28. Monitoring nutritional therapy
• The first priority is to achieve an ideal weight-
for-age.
• The second goal is to attain a catch-up in
length expected for the child’s age.
• Effectiveness of therapy is monitored by gain
in weight
• Establishes the diagnosis of psychosocial FTT.

29. Weight Gain

30. DEVELOPMENTAL
STIMULATION
• Intensive environmental stimulation
• Foster homes

31. OTHER ASPECTS
• Improvement in care-giver skills
• Presence of any underlying disease
• Regular and effective follow up

32. COMPLICATIONS
• Malnutrition-infection cycle
• Cognitive disability
• Re-feeding syndrome

33. Re-feeding Syndrome
• fluid retention, hypophosphatemia,
hypomagnesemia and hypokalemia.
• calories can safely be started at 20% above
the child’s recent intake.
• Increased by 10-20% per day
• If no estimate of caloric intake is available, 50
to 75% of the normal energy requirement is
safe

34. PREVENTION OF FAILURE TO THRIVE
• Promotion of exclusive breast feeding for early
infancy
• Community effort
• Encouraging parenting education courses
• Early detection of FTT and intervention
• Prevention of low birthweight
• Neonatal screening for treatable metabolic
disorders

35. SIMPLIFIED APPROACH to FTT