Oxandrolone in girls with Turner's syndrome. A pair-matched controlled study up to final height

Twenty-six one-year treatment periods on oxandrolone (0.1 mg/kg/day) were studied in 20 patients with Turner's syndrome. Control patients with Turner's syndrome were matched by using the following criteria: difference in bone age being not greater than 0.5 years and difference in the Bayley-Pinneau height prediction not greater than 3 cm. Height and height velocity were compared with standards of girls with Turner's syndrome (10) and expressed in standard deviation scores (SDS). On oxandrolone height velocity increased significantly from -0.3 SDS to + 3.0 SDS. The increase in height velocity was negatively correlated to the bone age at onset of treatment (r = -0.62, p less than 0.01). Height SDS improved by 0.45 SDS in the treated patients whereas it did not change in the control patients. The bone age velocity during the treatment period (including a six-month period after treatment) was 0.75 year/year in the treated, compared to 0.66 year/year in the control patients (NS). 15 of the 20 patients have reached final height. The difference in final height minus predicted height (Bayley-Pinneau) at onset of treatment was taken as a measure of "gain in final height". Seven of those (mean bone age 12.1 years at onset of treatment) were treated for one year only and had--compared to the matched controls--a mean net gain in final height of 2.5 cm (NS). Eight patients (mean bone age 10.1 years at onset of treatment) were treated for two one-year periods and had a significant mean net gain in final height of 5.2 cm. Height predictions calculated by the method of Lenko (14) gave an identical mean net gain in final height (5.1 cm).