Monitoring Child’s Development: Advances in Monitoring and Management of Pediatric

Pediatrics refers to the medical branch that deals with newborns and children's medical care. Pediatric monitoring is also called pediatric health management that happens before, during, and after the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures related to different health conditions. Pediatric monitoring essentially involves the provision of health services in various healthcare sectors. Children are often susceptible to diseases and catch infections. Therefore, in terms of health care, the pediatric monitoring market is a thriving market, no matter what. Lifestyle changes and unhealthy habits contribute largely to this market's growth.

The market for pediatric monitoring is driven by the increasing incidence of infectious pediatric diseases. Growing incidences of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes in infants and children, government initiatives and favorable reimbursement scenario, as well as advances in technology is the major reason for the growth of the pediatric monitoring market.

The global pediatric monitoring market was valued between $6,789–$7,000m in 2018 and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 4.18%–5.6% to reach $9,039–$9,200m by 2025. North America dominated the market in 2018. However, due to the rapid technological advances in medicine in developing economies such as China and India, reforms in government healthcare, and increased public awareness, Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing region for the pediatric monitoring market during the forecast period 2019–2025.

R&D in pediatric health has long lagged behind adult health R&D. Methodological and ethical challenges related to pediatric research increases the cost of pediatric trials and the market for pediatric products is also relatively small. The subsequent knowledge gaps and lack of product development specific to children have resulted in high out-of-label and unlicensed prescription rates for children. In addition, drugs and drug-related issues such as dose selection for pediatric clinical trials, failure of pharmacometric analysis in the development of pediatric medicines and others are also hampering the market growth. 

Both the United States and the European Union have implemented legislation to stimulate pediatric health research by providing incentives and financing for pediatric studies and, where appropriate, requiring pediatric studies for new drug applications. However, the majority of the global burden of pediatric disease lies with populations in countries with low and medium incomes, for which the lack of health R&D remains a major problem.

In order to increase the availability of medicines to children, the FDA and the EMA require proof of the early planning of pediatric safety and efficacy data in all drug development programs. The proactive development of pediatric research plans can save valuable time and costs. The majority of pediatric studies carried out for the approval of an individual drug by the FDA include fewer than 1000 children, and drugs are used in a population of children more diverse and more numerous than in controlled studies after marketing. Therefore, after the introduction of a product in the market, safety concerns can become apparent. Since children represent a smaller percentage of the population receiving drugs for which adverse events are reported to the FDA, the identification of pediatric problems is often more difficult.

Critically ill children are now undergoing an increasing frequency of continuous electroencephalographic monitoring (CEEG). CEEG monitoring provides real-time insight into brain function, highlights changes in brain function intervals over time, and allows electrographic seizures to be identified. Most of the EEG background and prognosis data focus on children with acute hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, although some studies have focused on cohorts with heterogeneous etiologies. Thus, there is many evidence that shows the market for pediatric monitoring is growing exponentially during the forecast period.