The urinary total hydroxyproline:creatinine ratio was measured on samples collected from 18 boys and 11 girls referred to a children's hospital because of small stature. Any serious degree of growth hormone deficiency was excluded and each child's growth and development was recorded over the following year. The hypothesis that the average hydroxyproline:creatinine ratio on random urine samples may be used to predict height velocity was examined. Such a prediction would have been incorrect on 35% of occasions, and it is concluded that this investigation cannot be used reliability to predict growth in height; it is probably only useful with sequential studies of an individual child over short periods while monitoring therapy.
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