Pediatric hematologic and metabolic case study guide
Select one of three paediatric case studies — a jaundiced one-week-old, a three-year-old picky eater with microcytic hypochromic anaemia, or a short thirteen-year-old at Tanner stage II — and post a differential diagnosis, the most likely diagnosis, a treatment and management plan with dosages, and family education strategies.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 14, 2026
Three cases, and what each one is testing
Read all three cases before choosing, because each tests a different reasoning skill and the one that looks easiest may not be. Case one is a one-week-old back to birth weight, feeding well, wetting eight to ten nappies a day, with matched maternal and infant blood types, a negative Coombs test and slight scleral and skin jaundice. Almost everything there is reassuring, so the task is to distinguish physiological jaundice from the pathological causes the negative Coombs and matched types have already made unlikely, and to state what would change your mind. Case two is a three-year-old living on waffles, macaroni and chicken nuggets, with a haemoglobin of 11.4, a haematocrit of 30 and microcytic hypochromic red cells. That picture points towards iron deficiency, but the differential has to include the other causes of a microcytic anaemia, and cow's milk intake is the question the history has not asked.
Case three is the hardest: a thirteen-year-old, thin and short, with breast development at Tanner stage II and pubic hair at Tanner stage I, and an otherwise normal examination. The work there is deciding between constitutional delay of growth and puberty, familial short stature, an endocrine cause and a chronic condition presenting as growth failure — and the data that would settle it, growth velocity, parental heights and bone age, is exactly what the case withholds. Whichever you choose, the post is graded on the differential rather than on the answer, so give at least three plausible conditions and say what each would predict. Then make the plan specific: dosing by weight rather than by adult convention, a follow-up interval, and the red flags that would bring the child back sooner. Aim the education at the family, since a parent carries out every plan here.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Build a differential diagnosis from paediatric history and examination findings.
- 02Identify the features that make one diagnosis more likely than its alternatives.
- 03Recognise the red flags that move a common presentation into urgent territory.
- 04Construct a management plan with appropriate paediatric dosing.
- 05Design family education for a chronic or dietary condition.
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Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. 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I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01One selected case study, named.
- 02A differential diagnosis with at least three plausible conditions.
- 03The most likely diagnosis and the reasoning behind it.
- 04Unique characteristics of the primary diagnosis.
- 05A treatment and management plan with dosages where applicable.
- 06Education strategies for the patient and family.
Differential, diagnosis, plan, education
The case and its key data
Restate the findings that will drive the reasoning.
The differential
Set out at least three plausible conditions and what each would predict.
The most likely diagnosis
Name it and give the features that make it most likely.
Treatment and management
Give pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management with dosing.
Educating the family
Set out what the family needs to know, do and watch for.
Current paediatric references for each case
Recommended databases
- StatPearls via NCBI Bookshelf
- MedlinePlus
- PubMed
- The Burns et al. paediatric primary care text
- Cochrane Library
Search sequence
- 1.Choose the case and list every abnormal finding before reading anything.
- 2.Look up the age-specific normal ranges the case is being measured against.
- 3.Read a current reference on the condition you suspect and on two alternatives.
- 4.Check paediatric dosing from a current source rather than from memory.
- 5.Find the red flags that would change the plan, and state them.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Neonatal Jaundice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Case one: distinguishing physiological from pathological jaundice and when to act.
- 02
Iron Deficiency and Microcytic Hypochromic Anemia
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
Case two: the microcytic hypochromic picture, its causes and its management.
- 03
Short Stature
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Case three: evaluating short stature and delayed puberty in an adolescent.
- 04
Anemia
MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine · 2024
Plain-language material to draw on when writing the family education section.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Giving one diagnosis and no differential, which skips the graded reasoning.
- Ignoring the age of the child, which changes what is normal for every case.
- Omitting dosing when the prompt asks for appropriate dosages.
- Missing the red flag that separates a benign from an urgent version of the presentation.
- Treating dietary advice as sufficient education without addressing adherence.
- Answering more than one case study when the prompt asks for one.
Submission checklist
- One case is selected and identified at the start.
- At least three differentials are given with reasoning.
- The primary diagnosis is justified from the case data.
- Dosages are included and age-appropriate.
- Red flags and follow-up are addressed.
- Family education is specific to this diagnosis.
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.

Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.

Reviewed by
Dr. Nathan Cole
PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.