ReviewJournal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM2021
Provocative growth hormone testing in children: how did we get here and where do we go now?
Review in Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- The influence of growth hormone on pediatric body composition: A systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Pooled it
- Variability in the management of healthy short youth following GH stimulation testing.Endocrines · 2026Article
- Evaluation of growth hormone provocative tests in Egyptian children with growth hormone-related short stature.World journal of experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Nutritional Status of Children with Short Stature Is Oppositely Associated with Growth Hormone Peak in Stimulation Tests and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Concentration.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Effects of Human Recombinant Growth Hormone (rhGH) Treatment on Plasma Extracellular Vesicles in GH-Deficient Children: A Preliminary Report.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Obesity-Related Changes in Growth Hormone Stimulation Test Performance Under Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Sex Steroid Priming on Growth Hormone Stimulation Test: A Scoping Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Consensus and controversies about diagnosing GH deficiency: a Delphi survey by the GH research society.Pituitary · 2025Review
- Growth Response to Weekly Somapacitan Therapy in Children With GH Deficiency Is Related to GH Thresholds in GH Stimulation Testing.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2025Article
- Compounding and stability studies of liquid oral formulations of beta-blockers (bisoprolol, betaxolol, and nadolol) for paediatric patients.Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques · 2025Article
- Auxological parameters associated with the diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency in children with short stature.Pediatric endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism · 2025Article
- L-DOPA Test in the Diagnosis of Childhood Short Stature: Evaluation of Growth Hormone Peaks Over Time.Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2024Article
- Diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children on the ketogenic diet: A case series.Epilepsia open · 2024Article
- Transient Isolated, Idiopathic Growth Hormone Deficiency-A Self-Limiting Pediatric Disease with Male Predominance or a Diagnosis Based on Uncertain Criteria? Lesson from 20 Years' Real-World Experience with Retesting at One Center.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Novel therapies for growth disorders.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Review
- Growth Hormone Treatment for Non-GHD Disorders: Excitement Tempered by Biology.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2024Review
- [Diagnostic significance and considerations of growth hormone stimulation testing and insulin-like growth factor 1 in growth hormone deficiency].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2023Article
- Clinical Indications for Growth Hormone Therapy.Advances in pediatrics · 2022Review
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Investigation and Treatment of Growth Hormone Deficiency.The Journal of pediatrics · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesProvocative growth hormone (GH) tests are widely used for diagnosing pediatric GH deficiency (GHD). A thorough understanding of the evidence behind commonly used interpretations and the limitations of these tests is important for improving clinical practice. CONTENT: To place current practice into a historical context, the supporting evidence behind the use of provocative GH tests is presented. By reviewing GH measurement techniques and examining the early data supporting the most common tests and later studies that compared provocative agents to establish reference ranges, the low sensitivity and specificity of these tests become readily apparent. Studies that assess the effects of patient factors, such as obesity and sex steroids, on GH testing further bring the appropriateness of commonly used cutoffs for diagnosing GHD into question. SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK: Despite the widely recognized poor performance of provocative GH tests in distinguishing GH sufficiency from deficiency, limited progress has been made in improving them. New diagnostic modalities are needed, but until they become available, clinicians can improve the clinical application of provocative GH tests by taking into account the multiple factors that influence their results.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.