Provocative growth hormone testing in children: how did we get here and where do we go now?

What It Covers

The paper reports a study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over), published as a review.

Provocative growth hormone (GH) tests are widely used for diagnosing pediatric GH deficiency (GHD).

Why It Was Studied

To place current practice into a historical context, the supporting evidence behind the use of provocative GH tests is presented.

By reviewing GH measurement techniques and examining the early data supporting the most common tests and later studies that compared provocative agents to establish reference ranges, the low sensitivity and specificity of these tests become readily apparent.

Who the Included Studies Covered

The age groups tagged for this paper are children.

What Was Measured

To place current practice into a historical context, the supporting evidence behind the use of provocative GH tests is presented.

By reviewing GH measurement techniques and examining the early data supporting the most common tests and later studies that compared provocative agents to establish reference ranges, the low sensitivity and specificity of these tests become readily apparent.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures, Growth Disorders and Human Growth Hormone.

Author keywords: children, growth hormone assay, growth hormone deficiency, growth hormone stimulation tests and provocative growth hormone testing.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a review of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over).

The publication is from 2021 (Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page, all human trials.