Short stature

Abstract

Short stature in children is established by the techniques of growth assessment. If a child is pathologically short it is important to distinguish the one who looks abnormal or has disproportionate short stature from the majority who appear normal. Short children of normal appearance in good health may represent extreme variations of the normal growth patterns, have genetic or environmental reasons for poor growth, or have endocrine disease. In general, effective therapy for short stature is confined to those children who have a hormone deficiency for which replacement therapy is available.