Management of neurological conditions in children

The WHO/UNICEF Integrated Management of Childhood Illness and Making Pregnancy Safer strategies were developed with the objective of reducing neonatal and child mortality and morbidity and promote healthy growth and development of children. Assessment of selected first-level hospitals in Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation has come up with relatively identical results with regard to the unified structure of health care and child care systems, showing that the institutions deliver a high level of health care. However, prolonged and unnecessary hospitalization of children is still common and children receive unneeded treatment (ineffective drugs and therapies). In particular, there are widespread problems in defining, diagnosing and treating neurological conditions in children under the age of one. This was the basis for organizing an inter-country technical consultation on management of neurological conditions in children, with the participation of representatives (neurologists and paediatricians) of all the Commonwealth of Independent States who share similar approaches to evaluating the neurological status of children. The goal of the consultation was to review issues related to the diagnoses and treatment of paediatric neurological conditions in children in the European region and identify a way forward for improving both diagnoses and management of this condition.