ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Growth retardation is a frequent reason for consultation in pediatrics. The interrogation, the reconstruction of the evolution curve of the height and the weight, the clinical and paraclinical examination make it possible to orient the diagnosis. The etiologies are multiple, but most often the growth retardation is isolated, it is then said to be constitutional.

Patients and methods: This is a prospective descriptive study on the records of 384 patients followed in the pediatric department of the CHU Mustapha Algiers. The aim of the study is to analyze the different etiological diagnoses and the therapeutic possibilities.

Results: The average age of our patients was 6,5 years, 174 patients (45%) are female and 210 (55%) are male, the sex/ratio is 1.2. The paraclinical explorations made it possible to confirm the etiological diagnosis in 157 (41%) patients : 55 cases of GH deficiency, 40 cases of Small for Gestational Age (SGA), 08 cases of hypothyroidism, 20 cases of bone causes (MOC), 15 cases of celiac disease, 05 cases of Prader Willis syndrome (genetic study), 14 cases of Turner syndrome. No etiology was found in 177 (46 %) patients, and 50 patients (13%) lost sight of.

Conclusion: Monitoring height and weight growth is an essential step and must be part of the systematic follow-up of any child. The measurements must therefore be reported on the reference curves, on the health record and/or the child's medical file. This is the condition that allows a practitioner to detect growth abnormalities without delay and to detect certain serious illnesses early.