Advanced bone age as an indicator facilitates the diagnosis of precocious puberty.

Diagnosis of central precocious puberty (CPP) has always been challenging in clinical practice. As an important method in the diagnosis of CPP, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) stimulation test is complex and time-consuming. In many cases, clinical traits are inconsistent with LHRH stimulation test results, therefore not reliable for diagnosis. In this study, the authors intended to find an indicator that predicts the results of the LHRH stimulation test among subjects with early pubertal signs.Cases of 382 girls with early breast development before 8 years old and LHRH stimulation test before 9 years old were included and underwent follow-up tests. Patients with peak luteinizing hormone (LH) level ≥5IU/L were considered positive in the LHRH stimulation test. Anthropometric data, body mass index (BMI), bone age (BA) evaluation, blood hormones levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and uterine and ovarian volumes were analyzed.Subjects with positive results in the initial test demonstrated early bone maturation, accelerated growth, and elevated basal blood LH, E2, and FSH levels, when compared with subjects with negative results in the initial test. Subjects with positive results in the follow-up test presented a more advanced bone age and more accelerated linear growth, when compared with subjects with negative results in the follow-up test.According to the statistical analysis, advanced bone age is the most effective predictor of the result of LHRH stimulation test.