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Mental retardation physical examination

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Chelsea Mae Nobleza, M.D.[2]

Overview

Overview

Patients with [disease name] usually appear [general appearance]. Physical examination of patients with [disease name] is usually remarkable for [finding 1], [finding 2], and [finding 3].

OR

Common physical examination findings of [disease name] include [finding 1], [finding 2], and [finding 3].

OR

The presence of [finding(s)] on physical examination is diagnostic of [disease name].

OR

The presence of [finding(s)] on physical examination is highly suggestive of [disease name].

Physical Examination

Physical Examination

A detailed physical examination has three parts: [1]

  1. Anthropometry – provides an estimate of the nutrition, any underlying medical or genetic condition. Assessment includes: height, arm span, sitting height, weight, head circumference, chest circumference, abdominal circumference, intercanthal and interpupillary distances, and palm and foot lengths.
  2. Dysmorphology examination – this documents birth defects by conducting a head-to-toe examination to look for minor physical anomalies that could shed light on the etiology of ID.
  3. Examination of major organ systems– this could provide clues toward a disorder involving inborn error of metabolism. Assessment should include vision, hearing, and gait. Patients are referred to geneticists for further evaluation in case of a minor physical anomaly.
  4. Behavioral observation – this is to correlate the clinical history and intellectual and behavioral abilities. It starts with observing general appearance, any oddities in behavior, attention span, receptive and expressive speech, social skills.
References

References

  1. Kishore MT, Udipi GA, Seshadri SP (January 2019). “Clinical Practice Guidelines for Assessment and Management of intellectual disability”. Indian J Psychiatry. 61 (Suppl 2): 194–210. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_507_18. PMC 6345136. PMID 30745696.

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