abstract ok.indd - eusuhm

of 10 years. Not all proposed rules were defined consistently. Even if an interpretation of the rules
was used with the highest specificity, more than 38% of all children would have to be referred.
Thus, strict application of the guidelines would lead to an overwhelmingly large number of false
positives. This would seriously impair regular practice and create avoidable anxiety. We recommend
a revision of the current Dutch guidelines. New guidelines should be based on adequate
empirical evidence.
CHILD DEVELOPMENTAL EXAMINATIONS DURING THE WELL-CHILD VISIT.
V.A.A Vekeman
Kind en Gezin. Flanders. Belgium.
In European populations the prevalence of developmental impairment was estimated to mount from
2.4% in infants to 3.3% at the age of 5 years. Therefor, a program for the systematic and standardised
assessment of the psychomotor development of young children (aged 0 to 15 months) has
recently been implemented in the Flemish network of well-baby clinics (Kind en Gezin). For this
purpose the Van Wiechen method was introduced. This standardised method, developed by the
Dutch paediatrician Van Wiechen, is based on the observation of a set of well-defined developmental
characteristics at the ages at which 90% of normal children are expected to attain the respective
developmental stages. The outcome of these age-specific developmental evaluations are
registered on a pre-printed form, containing a number of selected items concerning motor, speech
and language development. This form is added to the regular medical record. Together with the
medical history of the child, the clinical findings and the spontaneous behaviour, this standardised
developmental examinations result in a careful surveillance of the child’s development and
support the parents in their educational task. Early detection of developmental retardation is of
great importance because of the proven positive effect of a timely intervention. The duration of a
well-baby doctor’s visit is actually limited to ten minutes on average. It is a challenge to integrate
these age-specific developmental checks within this short time period. Training of nurses in answering
questions and examining specific items of the Van Wiechen program showed helpful to
attain this goal. In addition, the use of questionnaires for parental reporting might be time saving.
Continuous financial efforts are being made by „Kind en Gezin“ in the training of medical practitioners
and in providing continuous supervision.
In the presentation, the Van Wiechen method and its implementation in the Flemish preventive
well-baby consultations will briefly be explained, and the program will be illustrated by means of
a video developed for the training of medical staff.
GUIDELINES FOR EARLY DETECTION OF EYE DEFECTS, OF ADOLESCENT SCOLIOSIS AND OF CONGENITAL
MALFORMATIONS OF THE HEART.
M.M. Wagenaar-Fischer, H.W.M. van Velzen-Mol, M.N. Blankespoor, N. Heerdink-Oberhuysen,
F.J.M. van Leerdam.
Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Prevention and Health
Leiden, The Netherlands.
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The guideline for early detection of eye defects. The goal of this guideline is the prevention
of amblyopia. Amblyopia has to be treated before the age of seven years. The
literature is ambiguous about the best age for treatment. Some authors advocate detec-