INDUCTION OF EARLY PUBERTY IN A BOY AFTER TREATMENT WITH OXANDROLONE

We report on a 9-year-old boy with early puberty who had been treated with oxandrolone because of constitutional delay of growth. Treatment was started at the age of 6.25 years. During the treatment with oxandr olone over 22 months, the height velocity increased above the 97th per centile, and bone age developed twice as fast as chronological age. Af ter discontinuing the medication, the growth velocity did not decrease , and the bone age still accelerated. When he was 9.1 years old, testi cular volume had increased to 12 mi, pubic hair stage had progressed a nd he developed a mild facial acne. We hypothesize that oxandrolone co uld have induced an early onset of puberty in this boy. We conclude th at treatment with oxandrolone in young children should be considered c arefully and be used for short periods only. Potential side effects mi ght include the rapid acceleration of puberty and skeletal maturation.