Paediatric Environment

Stewart RD, Fisher TN, Hosko MJ, et al Experimental human exposure to methylene chloride. Arch Environ Health 25 342-348, 1972 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Preliminary Estimates from the 1995 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Rockville, MD, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996 Tenenbein M, PillayN Sensory evoked potentials in inhalant (volatile solvent) abuse. J Paediatr Child Health 29 206-208, 1993... 

A broad spectrum of diseases in children are known (or suspected) to be associated with unhealthy environments. For much of the world, traditional environmental health hazards continue to remain the primary source of ill-health. These include lack of adequate nutrition, poor sanitation, contaminated water, rampant disease vectors (e.g. mosquitoes and malaria), and unsafe waste disposal. In addition, rapid globalization and industrialization coupled with unsustainable patterns of production and consumption have released large quantities of chemical substances into the environment. Although the term environmental exposure can encompass a variety of factors, the focus of this document is specifically on environmental chemical exposures. Most of these substances have not been assessed for potential toxicity to children, nor have the most vulnerable subpopulations of children been identified. The incidence of a number of important paediatric diseases and disorders (e.g. asthma, neurobehavioural impairment) is increasing in several parts of the world. Although a variety of factors are likely to be involved, this may be due, in part, to the quality of the environment in which children live, grow, and play. 

Musculoskeletal examinations in CT encompass a broad range of patients, from the polytraumatised child in the immediate aftermath of a motor vehicle accident, to the child who is systemically well, but whose extremity is being imaged to investigate suspected complications of an injury that occurred months in the past. Regardless of the clinical situation, the preparation of any paediatric patient for a CT study includes the provision of a safe, comfortable, child-friendly environment, alongside an informed discussion with the child s carers as to the necessity for the examination and what it entails. 

Harvey, P.G., Hamlin, M.W. and Kumar, R. (1984). Blood lead, behavior and intelligence test performance in preschool children. Sci. Total Environ., 40, 45-60 Hole, K., Dahle, H. and Klove, H. (1979). Lead intoxication as an etiologic factor in hyperkinetic behavior in children a negative report. Acta Paediatr. Scand., 68, 759-760 Honzik, M.P. (1977). Value and limitations of infant tests an overview. In Lewis, M. (ed.)... 

The Bayley Scales, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (S-B IQ) and the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory were administered in the homes by trained examiners blinded to lead level. Staff members drawing venous blood samples were trained in paediatric blood collection. PbB levels were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry using a graphite furnace and matrix modification to control chemical interference. 

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