The necessity of magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of pediatric growth hormone deficiency: Lessons from a large academic center

Current guidelines indiscriminately recommend magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary gland in pediatric growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The relationship between abnormal MRI, most importantly a tumor, and peak GH levels is not well known. In this retrospective chart review, pituitary MRI results of children, ages of 3–16 years with GHD were collected and divided into 3 groups according to peak stimulated GH levels; ≤5, 5–7.4 and 7.5–10 ng/mL, Groups A, B & C respectively. Clinical and MRI findings were compared between the groups. A total of 399 children were included. Abnormal MRI was found in 36.9% of group A subjects, compared to group B (16.7%) and group C (17.0%), both p values =0.0002. Children with multiple pituitary hormonal deficiencies (MPHD) had a higher rate of abnormalities than those with isolated GHD. Children with isolated GHD were more likely to have abnormal MRI with peak GH level