Further Outpatient Care
- While the cause of growth failure is being investigated, most practitioners prefer to reevaluate patients at intervals of 3 months. This amount of time also permits repeated growth measurements, which then allows an estimation of growth velocity.
Prognosis
- Prognosis for adult stature depends on the cause of the growth failure. Initiating therapeutic intervention is important before the patient has closure of the epiphyses with the concomitant finishing of the growth process. If a diagnosis of hypothyroidism or growth hormone (GH) deficiency is made, replacement of the deficient hormone usually results in a period of rapid catch-up growth, with subsequent normal growth until epiphyseal fusion.
Patient Education
- For excellent patient education resources, visit eMedicine's Growth Hormone Deficiency Center. Also, see eMedicine's patient education articles Growth Failure in Children, Growth Hormone Deficiency, Understanding Growth Hormone Deficiency Medications, and Growth Hormone Deficiency FAQs.
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