Left middle finger metacarpophalangeal growth in Turner syndrome. Normal values and changes after growth hormone...

Tubular bone length of the left middle finger was determined by analysis of 259 hand radiographs of 118 patients with Turner syndrome (TS). Specific standards for TS children were developed and compared with those of normal children. The results show that in TS the growth pattern of the tubular bones of the left middle finger parallels statural growth and is not disproportional to height. In 14 patients with TS the length of the tubular finger bones was determined before and after a 1-year treatment with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) (mean dose 2.8 IU/m2 BSA/day). No disproportionate increment in the length of these bones compared to the respective height change was observed. The data suggest that over a short period of time the relatively high doses of growth hormone given in TS are unlikely to induce acromegaloid hand growth. The derived standards may serve to monitor hand growth in relation to height in TS during treatment in long-term trials with rhGH.