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World J Exp Med. Jun 20, 2026; 16(2): 117853
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i2.117853
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i2.117853
Evaluation of growth hormone provocative tests in Egyptian children with growth hormone-related short stature
Ahmed El-Abd Ahmed, Renada Saad Hamdan, Hala M Sakhr, Department of Pediatrics, Qena University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Mohammed H Hassan, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Qena University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Mohammed H Hassan, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Ahmed AEA, Sakhr HM, and Hassan MH contributed to study concept and design; Hassan MH, Sakhr HM, Hamdan RS, and Ahmed AEA contributed to literature research, statistical analysis, and data interpretation; Sakhr HM, Ahmed AEA, and Hamdan RS contributed to selection of the participants and their clinical evaluation; Hassan MH contributed to biochemical assays; Hassan MH and Sakhr HM contributed to first draft of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was performed according to the instructions presented in the Declaration of Helsinki, during the study period from February 2021 to December 2022. This study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Qena University, Qena, Egypt (Ethical approval code: No. SVU-MED-PED025-1-20-12-109).
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was taken from parents or caregivers of the included participants for participation in the study and publication.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, after obtaining the permission of our institute.
Corresponding author: Mohammed H Hassan, MD, Professor, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Qena University, Qena 83523, Egypt.
Received: December 18, 2025
Revised: March 13, 2026
Accepted: April 13, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 177 Days and 22.8 Hours
Revised: March 13, 2026
Accepted: April 13, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 177 Days and 22.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Growth hormone (GH) provocative testing in children demonstrates considerable variability, which can complicate the accurate diagnosis of GH deficiency. This study emphasizes that oral clonidine and levodopa stimulation tests represent safer, more practical, and reliable alternatives to the insulin tolerance test. Additionally, adopting lower, optimized cut-off values for GH levels enhances diagnostic precision and reduces the risk of misclassification in pediatric patients undergoing evaluation.