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Abstract: The patient in this article is a 7-year-old boy whose height is lower than normal for his age of the same sex, a manifestation of dwarfism, which is a type of growth abnormality. The boy was brought to the doctor by his parents and was initially examined for dwarfism due to micronutrient deficiency. The boy was treated with oral medication, supplemented by psychological guidance to improve his low self-esteem or autism, and the treatment effect was relatively good.
Basic information】Male, 7 years old
Type of disease】Developmental delay
Hospital】The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University
Date of Consultation】June 2021
Treatment plan】Medication (children’s vitamin D calcium chewable tablets, lysine inositol vitamin B12 oral solution) + psychotherapy
Treatment period】1 month of combined treatment
Treatment effect】The condition was basically controlled and the height returned to normal.
I. Initial consultation
The patient was 7 years old when he was first seen by his family, who told him that he was 7 years old and that the normal height of a 7-year-old boy was about 124 cm, but this patient was about 114 cm tall, which was shorter than other children of the same sex and age, and shorter than his sister who was born together. The patient’s mother told her that the patient often stayed up late, was a picky eater, bedwetter, and was introverted, and his body growth rate was relatively slow. The patient was given a basic physical examination and weighed 20 kg, with normal spinal and dorsal joint development and no symptoms of precocious puberty such as voice change and testicular enlargement, and was initially diagnosed as having delayed height growth.
II. Treatment process
In order to further clarify the specific cause of the delayed growth, we performed blood glucose, blood routine, trace elements, joint MRI and pituitary gland examination after the family’s consent. The results of the trace element test were in the normal range but relatively low, which might cause growth retardation, while the results of the left knee MRI and pituitary gland test were normal. The patient was given chewable calcium vitamin D tablets and oral lysine inositol vitamin B12 solution to supplement trace elements, and psychological counseling to avoid autism caused by excessive anxiety about height.
III. Treatment effect
The patient’s height gradually returned to normal after medication and psychological treatment. After drug treatment, it can supplement trace elements for the organism to avoid height shortage caused by trace element deficiency, and there is improvement in height about 2 weeks after medication. At the same time, patients are given psychological counseling to avoid excessive tension, sleep on time in daily life to ensure sufficient sleep, balanced intake of dietary nutrients, and high protein and high calorie food, such as eggs and milk, can provide nutrients for the organism, and in about 1 month, the patient’s height appears to grow and the treatment effect is better.
IV. Precautions
Parents are advised to pay attention to giving patients a nutritious and diversified diet, with a balanced diet of meat and vegetables; at the same time, they should help patients to establish good living habits and avoid partial or picky eating, as well as avoiding patients staying up late and overworking, so as not to affect bone quality and height growth due to malnutrition.
V. Personal insight
Dwarfism is a common disease in children, but the causes are complex, including genetic, hormonal abnormalities, malnutrition and other causes. For the patient in this case, the parents brought the patient to the clinic in time and gave appropriate treatment to identify the cause, rather than delaying the disease to aggravate it, and the patient’s height recovered to the normal range faster in the process of standardized treatment. For height, it is more important to build up one’s own self-confidence. We hope that parents will always observe their children’s height and go to the hospital in time if there is any abnormality.