Oestrogen treatment of constitutionally tall girls with 0.1 mg/day ethinyl oestradiol.

For the treatment of tall stature in girls, oestrogens are usually given in high doses. In this study, growth data of 35 constitutionally tall girls treated with only 0.1 mg/day ethinyl oestradiol (EE) are reported (Group 1). The data were compared with those of 23 untreated girls with comparable bone ages and growth potential (Group 2), and with those of 5 girls treated with 0.3 mg/day EE (Group 3). All groups were followed until cessation of growth. In group 1, the median bone age at the onset of treatment was 12.50 years (Greulich-Pyle, range 10.50-13.75), and the median height prediction was calculated to be 184.4 cm (Bayley-Pinneau, range 179.5-191.5). Following oestrogen treatment of 21 months duration (range 10-37) the median adult height was reduced by 4.3 cm (range 0.0-9.0), or 3.9 cm if corrected for the error of prediction in the control group. The effect was greater in those girls with bone ages below 12.5 years at the onset of treatment (6.7 cm/corrected value 7.4 cm) than in the older girls (4.2 cm/3.6 cm). In Group 2 (controls) the median final adult height was over-estimated by 0.4 cm (range-4.9 to 4.9), but was under-estimated by 0.7 cm in those girls with bone ages below 12.5 years. In girls of comparable bone age similar reductions were obtained whether 0.3 mg/day EE (Group 3) or 0.1 mg/day was given (4.4 vs. 4.2 cm). A comparison of these results with published data indicates that higher EE doses (0.3-0.5 mg/day) have only little, if any, greater effect on the growth of girls than the dosage of 0.1 mg/day EE used in this study.