Faltering growth

Abstract

The monitoring of growth is perhaps the longest-standing health surveillance practice in paediatrics, with routine assessments of height and weight occurring throughout childhood. Faltering from these predicted centiles will often result in a review in primary care accompanied by heightened parental anxiety. Although a drop in growth velocity may well be normal for an individual, it may also be the first warning sign of underlying pathology. The challenge for clinicians is to differentiate what is normal from faltering growth that occurs as the culmination of underlying medical, environmental, or psychosocial factors. This article gives an overview of growth and its assessment, alongside current UK criteria for faltering growth and an approach for its management in primary care.