All issues > Volume 44(7); 2001

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2001;44(7):817-822. Published online July 15, 2001.

Radiologic Findings of Hands in Turner Syndrome

Young Sim YS Han¹, Moo Young MY Oh², Young Joon YJ Lee³, Woo Yeong WY Chung²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Samsun Hospital, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Inje University, Pusan, Korea
³Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Inje University, Pusan, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
s : Radiologic findings of hands in Turner syndrome(TS) which have been reported were metacarpal sign(MS), carpal sign(CS), phalangeal sign(PS), osteopenia, and delayed bone maturation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the difference of radiologic findings in TS, idiopathic short stature(ISS), and growth hormone deficiency(GHD).
Methods
: Sixty girls with short stature were studied for chromosome analysis, and growth hormone provocation test. Simple radiography of hands was also used in this study. They were divided into three groups; 25 cases of TS(45, XO, 13 cases; variants, 12 cases), 24 cases of ISS, and 11 cases of GHD. MS was the distance between the line drawn tangential to the heads of the fourth and fifth metacarpal bones and the distal end of the third metacarpal head. CS was the angle between the line tangential to scaphoid and lunate and the line tangential to lunate and triquetrum. PS was the difference between the sum of the length of distal and proximal phalanges of the fourth finger and the length of the fourth metacarpus. Frequency of osteopenia and the shortening of the fifth middle phalanx among three groups were compared.
Results
: MS was 0.06¡¾4.66 mm in TS, -1.96¡¾1.83 mm in ISS, and -2.63¡¾30 mm in GHD. CS was 116.54¡¾11.52¡Æin TS, 129.42¡¾5.52¡Æin ISS, and 125.54¡¾7.22¡Æin GHD. PS was 0.52¡¾0.34 mm in TS, 0.38¡¾0.20 mm in ISS, and 0.33¡¾0.20 mm in GHD. There were statistically significant differences between TS and ISS, between TS and GHD, respectively in MS, CS, and PS(P<0.05). There were no significant differences in MS, CS, and PS between 45, XO and variants of TS. Osteopenia was observed in 92.3% of TS, and 54.2% of ISS, and 81.8% of GHD. Shortening of the fifth middle phalanx was observed in 56.0% of TS, 25.0% of ISS, and 45.5% of GHD.
Conclusion
: Simple radiologic findings of hands are helpful in differential diagnosis of TS and other short stature children

Keywords :Turner syndrome, Metacarpal sign, Carpal sign, Phalangeal sign