Association of Turner Syndrome and Growth Hormone Deficiency: A Review

Turner syndrome (TS) is an important cause of short stature in girls. Patients with TS most often do not have growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Testing GH secretion is not indicated despite the presence of short stature. In the last 20 years only three cases were reported with this association in Pubmed. We describe a case of an 11 year old girl with short stature and karyotype confirmed TS: 45,X(16)46,X,i(X)(q10)(13). Because her growth velocity was low (-3 SD), we evaluated the GH response with stimulating tests and the results were under the normal range. These findings were compatible with GHD. It is important to check for GHD in patients with TS whenever the growth velocity is low for age and sex.