Clinical Analysis of Misdiagnosis of Growth Retardation Due to Other Causes as Growth Hormone Deficiency in Children
LIANG Dingling
ZHOU Qunying
Abstract：Objective To discuss the clinical characteristics of growth retardation caused by other reasons and the causes of misdiagnosis as growth hormone deficiency(GHD)combined with other causes,in order to reduce the rate of clin-ical missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis of this disease.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 3 children misdiagnosed with GHD who were admitted from January 2021 to October 2024.Results One of the 3 patients was misdiagnosed as GHD and hyperthyrotropinemia because of growth deviation and elevated thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH).After receiving growth hormone and thyroid hormone replacement therapy,the diagnosis was corrected as hyperthyrotropinemia with thyroid cyst.The other two patients were misdiagnosed as GHD due to slow growth and received growth hormone treatment.One of them was found to have constitutional delayed puberty during the treatment,and the other had normal natural growth rate and entered puberty after discontinuation of the drug.All three patients were diagnosed by detailed medical history inquiry,physical examination,growth hormone stimulation test,thyroid function test,imaging examination and long-term follow-up.The misdiagnosis time ranged from 4 months to 3 years.After diagnosis,the patients were given corresponding treatment according to the condition,and the growth and development were improved.Conclusion GHD,constitutional delayed puberty and hyperthyrotropinemia have similar clinical manifestations,and the differential diagnosis is difficult,which is prone to misdiagnosis.For patients with growth deviation,relevant examinations should be performed as soon as possible to improve the accuracy of diagnosis.Doctors should strengthen the understanding of these diseases and improve the ability of differential diagnosis to reduce misdiagnosis and mistreatment.
Keywords：Constitutional delay of pubertyHyperthyrotropinemiaThyroid cystMisdiagnosisGrowth hormone deficiency syndromeGrowth hormone stimulation testThyroid functionDiagnosisdifferential
Publication Date：2025-06-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 17-21 )