Growth

Growth is the work of childhood. Poor growth may be an indicator of an underlying problem and should be investigated and the cause treated as soon as possible. There are many causes of poor growth, some permanent and others transient. Short stature out of keeping with that of the family, or where a child fails to grow along their growth percentile when plotted on a growth chart warrants further investigation.

Growth hormone may be required in some children to achieve a height within the adult normal range, and is given by daily injection. Because of the expense of growth hormone a thorough evaluation by a paediatric endocrinologist is required before growth hormone can be recommended and therapy is often carried out by or under the supervision of such a specialist.

Tall stature, or excessive growth may also be an indicator of an underlying disorder and warrant investigation.

The earlier growth disorders are detected and therapies instituted, the better the outcome.

Growth disorders:

Short stature

Skeletal dysplasias - hypochondoplasia, achondroplasia

Syndromes- Turner syndrome, Down syndrome, Noonan syndrome, Russel-Silver syndrome

Small for gestational age

Constitutional growth delay

Genetic short stature

Growth hormone deficiency, panhypopituitarism, thyroid hormone deficiency, Cushing syndrome

Nutritional deficiency

Tall stature

Syndromic- Marfan syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome

Keywords

Humatrope, Norditropin Nordilet