Question

How do you think a physician should deal with parents that want hGH for their kids?

Being tall is generally considered an advantage in life, so why not give it to kids even if it is not medically necessary?

What if we gave it to all kids, like a vaccine against shortness? Or should we shelf the medicine and work on being more tolerant of short people?

Answer 1

Short stature is not a disease although it may result from underlying disease.But diagnosis can be challenging and treatment decisions may be controversial for both physician and parents.Some short but healthy children receive expensive nighty injections of recombinant growth hormone.As with any medicine , there may be side effects and possibly unknown long term risks.So some of the medical experts have issued a new set of guideline for managing kids with growth hormones.It should only be recommended to those kids who are clearly diagnosed medical condition.For kids with Idiopathic Short Stature whose cause is known will be recommended that the parents and the physician should take a shared decision making approach weighing physical and psychological burdens for the kids along with a discussion of risks and benefits.