Comparison between insulin tolerance test and clonidine stimulation test in the exploration of growth hormone deficiency

Salma Abadlia; Bchir Najla; Chadia Zouaoui; Yamna Hadami Ben; Chehida Anaam Ben; Haroun Ouertani

doi:10.1530/endoabs.90.EP821

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Endocrine Abstracts (2023) 90 EP821 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.90.EP821

ECE2023 Eposter Presentations Pituitary and Neuroendocrinology (234 abstracts)

Comparison between insulin tolerance test and clonidine stimulation test in the exploration of growth hormone deficiency

Salma Abadlia , Bchir Najla , Chadia Zouaoui , Hadami Ben Yamna , Anaam Ben Chehida & Haroun Ouertani

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Military Hospital of Tunis, Endocrinology, Tunis, Tunisia

Introduction: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a rare cause of delay of growth. However, it is primordial to screen for it since its presence leads to a specific treatment which improves statural prognosis. GHD should be confirmed through stimulation tests such as Insulin Tolerance test (ITT) or Clonidine Stimulation Test (CST). The objective of our study was to compare these two diagnostic tools.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in the endocrinology service of the military hospital of Tunis that involved 25 patients who were referred to our department for exploration of growth delay. The GH responses of participants were compared according to the test used (ITT or CST). GHD was retained if GH < 10 ng/mL. A severe GHD was retained if GH < 05 ng/mL.

Results: The mean age of the sample was 12 ± 3 years with male predominance (80%). Almost half of the sample (46%) had a clinical severe growth delay. GH peak during ITT was 2.12 ± 1 vs 4.09 ± 3 during CST (P= 0.08). When using ITT, the majority of participants 94% had severe GHD, while only 60 % presented severe GHD if CST was used (P= 0.04).

Conclusion: ITT seems to be significantly more sensible in the exploration of the somatotropic axis