Referral of appropriate children for suspected growth failure to a paediatric endocrine specialist remains a problem. A review in 2018 noted: ‘A balance must be made to ensure eligible patients get referred while healthcare systems are not over-burdened by excessive referrals.’
The difficulty was highlighted at the recent meeting of the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (24 – 26 November, 2021) where a study to evaluate UK referral criteria was presented. Use of different criteria, including, Height SDS and Height-Target height SDS produced a trade-off between specificity and sensitivity in terms of identifying pathology. One main conclusion of this study was that routine assessment of target height could reduce inappropriate referrals.
GrowthXP displays derived values, including target height (TH) and TH SDS automatically. This widely used Application has been designed to aid the monitoring growth and development in general paediatric practice, as well providing charts and functionality demanded by growth specialists.
Reference: Maghnie M et al. Short Stature Diagnosis and Referral. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2017; 8: 374.
