Question
My daughter is shorter than children of the same age, not just in height but also in weight. I originally thought she would grow taller later on, but after some time, there has been no significant growth. The doctor diagnosed her with dwarfism. I would like to ask, what kind of examinations are needed to diagnose dwarfism?
Answer
When diagnosing dwarfism, simply measuring the level of growth hormone (GH) through random blood tests is not meaningful for a definitive diagnosis. However, if the random blood GH level is significantly lower than the normal value (>10ug/L), it can exclude the diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Once GHD is confirmed, further examination of the other functions of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis is required. Based on clinical presentations, measurements of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxine (T4), or performing thyroid-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation tests and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) stimulation tests can be chosen to evaluate the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and the gonadal axis.