Pediatrics
Paediatrics tests growth and development, neonatal care, common infections, dehydration, vaccination, and safeguarding. Doses are weight-based and normal ranges change with age.
Core rules
- Assess airway, breathing, circulation, consciousness, and glucose in any sick child.
- Dehydration: use clinical signs and weight change; oral rehydration is first-line for mild-moderate dehydration.
- Fever in infants under 3 months is a red flag requiring urgent assessment and often sepsis work-up.
- Bronchiolitis is clinical; oxygen, feeding support, and suction are mainstays; bronchodilators and steroids are not routine.
- Immunisation schedules and catch-up rules are examinable; true contraindications are few.
Worked example
A 5-month-old has 3 days of coryza, wheeze, subcostal recession, and oxygen saturation 91% on room air. The diagnosis is bronchiolitis. Give oxygen to maintain saturation, ensure feeding, and admit if apnoea, exhaustion, or poor intake. A chest radiograph is not routine; antibiotics are not indicated without focal consolidation.
Traps
Do not use adult analgesic doses; do not diagnose asthma in a wheezing infant; do not ignore parental concern or a non-blanching rash; do not send home a neonate with fever without senior review.