Endocrine Abstracts

New UK growth charts using the new WHO standard for children from birth to four years should now be used for all babies born in England after May 11th 2009 (October 2009 in Scotland).The WHO charts for the first time describe optimal rather than average growth, set breast feeding as the norm and are suitable for all ethnic groups. UK children fit the new charts well for length and height but will look appear relatively heavier by the age of one. This wil...

Introduction: The National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA) provides a benchmark of performance for paediatric diabetic services across the UK. Whether intentional or not, a league table is created comparing units based on their mean HbA1c. Although the coordinators suggest submitting the patients’ most recent HbA1c, this may not necessarily be a universally adopted phenomenon. We examined the effect of selecting patient’s best, yearly average, and latest HbA1c on ou...

Background and aims: Estimating puberty using Tanner stages is usually done unconfidently by general paediatricians. Self-assessment methods are not reliable. As assessment of growth on the new UK growth charts necessitates establishing pubertal status, we have designed and evaluated a simpler non-invasive approach.Methods: The new system has three Phases– Pre-Puberty (Tanner stage 1), In-Puberty (stages 2/3) and Completing-Puberty (stages 4/5)....