What does a pediatric endocrinologist do?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Pediatric endocrinologist is a rather rare profession. In many medical centers, such a position is not even provided. This is not entirely correct, since the growth and development of the child's body largely depends on the work of the glands of external, and especially internal, secretion. In the event that all deviations are detected early enough, then it becomes possible to carry out rational treatment and completely stabilize the work of the endocrine system. If the full restoration of the functional capabilities of the glands is not feasible, then the pediatric endocrinologist will prescribe replacement therapy exactly in the amount in which it is necessary for a particular child.

Endocrinological diseases in children have recently become more common. However, many of them go unnoticed outwardly. This contributes to the aggravation of the pathological process and the rather late detection of endocrine diseases.

One of the most common diseasesof this profile in children is diabetes mellitus. It is worth noting that many people under the age of 30 are susceptible to type I infection of this serious and dangerous disease. It is not so easy to identify the first symptoms in a child. Parents should pay attention to whether their child goes to the toilet "in a small way" too often. In addition, children with type 1 diabetes are often thirsty and lose weight quickly, despite the fact that their appetite is excellent.

If there is even a slight suspicion of the occurrence of such a serious disease, it is necessary that the child be examined by a pediatric endocrinologist. He will take a blood sugar test, prescribe a glycemic profile (blood sampling every 3 hours to determine daily fluctuations in blood sugar concentration), and then determine the dose of insulin needed to compensate for type 1 diabetes, if this disease is identified.

Quite common among children and pathology associated with the thyroid gland. The main diseases caused by the improper functioning of this organ are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The first type of pathology is somewhat more common. The main cause of this disease is the reduced production of thyroxine by the cells of the thyroid gland. A similar condition can be observed in case of damage to this organ or be the result of the removal of part of it. Children with this disease are overweight, have a reduced appetite, and their eyeballs may looksunken, the reaction of such a child is usually inhibited. As for hyperthyroidism, this pathology is an increase in the production of thyroxine by thyroid cells. Such a pathology is manifested by a decrease in body weight, increased appetite, sweating, eyeballs pushed forward. Such a child is often irritable. Treatment of hypo- and hyperthyroidism in each case, the pediatric endocrinologist selects individually. Most often, it consists in the appointment of thyroxine replacement therapy (for hypothyroidism), or thyreostatins (for hyperthyroidism). In the case of an increase in the production of thyroxine by the cells of the thyroid gland, sometimes it is necessary to resort to surgical intervention. In this case, such an operation will no longer be carried out by an ordinary endocrinologist. Who will do this really well is an endocrinologist surgeon.

During the examination, a pediatric endocrinologist can also detect other diseases: pituitary dwarfism, gigantism and others, but they are quite rare.