The utility of basal serum LH in prediction of central precocious puberty in girls

Yehonatan Pasternak, Michael Friger, Neta Loewenthal, Alon Haim, Eli Hershkovitz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: The mainstay of distinction between prepubertal girls and girls who are suspected of having central precocious puberty (CPP) is based on gonadotropin measurements after a GnRH stimulation test to evaluate hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis maturity. The objective of this study was to determine whether a single basal gonadotropin measurement carries a useful predictive value in verifying or refuting the diagnosis of CPP. Design and methods: Basal serum LH and FSH were measured by a chemiluminescent immunometric assay in a cohort of girls who had been evaluated for CPP before and after GnRH stimulation test. Peak LH levels higher than 5 IU/l were considered a pubertal response. Results: Eighty girls with suspected breast development before 8 years of age were enrolled to the study, out of whom 42 had CPP. Low basal serum LH (≤ 0.1 IU/l) was sufficient to rule out the diagnosis of CPP in 94.7% of the 38 prepubertal girls; the sensitivity of basal LH levels for this purpose was only 64%. The basal FSH and the basal LH to FSH ratio achieved less efficient predictive value with 76 and 71% sensitivity and 73 and 86% specificity respectively. Conclusion: A single basal LH measurement may be adequate to confirm but not to refute the presence of CPP in most of the girls who are evaluated for early pubertal signs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)295-299
Number of pages5
JournalEuropean Journal of Endocrinology
Volume166
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2012
Externally publishedYes

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