Without symptoms of disease, children generally do not need many laboratory screening tests. If the health care provider identifies risk factors, appropriate screening tests will be offered (see side menu for examples).
For more information on what happens at your child’s medical exams, see Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, Pocket Guide.
You can find out more about preventive medicine and the steps you can take to keep you and your family healthy by reading the companion article Staying Healthy in an Era of Patient Responsibility.
General Sources
S1
Hagan JF, Shaw JS and Duncan PM, eds. Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents (3rd ed.). 2008. Washington, DC: American Academy of Pediatrics.
S2
Schedules for children and adolescents—United States, 2008 (policy statement). Jan 2008. Pediatrics 121(1):219-220. Available online at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org. Accessed 10 Jan 2008.
S3
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine; Bright Futures Steering Committee. Recommendations for preventive pediatric health care. Dec 2007. Pediatrics 120(6):1376. Available online at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org. Accessed 7 Jan 2008.
S4
Green M and Palfrey JS. Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, Pocket Guide (2nd ed.). 2002. National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health. Available online at http://www.brightfutures.org/pocket/index.html. Accessed 26 Aug 2004 and 9 Jan 2008.
