Clinical characterization of girls with Turner syndrome

Abstract

Turner syndrome is a genetic disorder that occurs in women with partial or complete absence of an X chromosome. 

Objective: To describe the clinical, laboratory, and genotypic characteristics of patients with Turner syndrome, treated at three health institutions in Medellin.

Patients and Method: A retrospective study was carried out. A total of 97 patients with Turner syndrome (< 18 years) confirmed by karyotype between 2011 and 2018 were included. Patients whose karyotype did not meet the specification of the American College of Medical Genetics were excluded. Data on sociodemographic details, nutritional variables, phenotypic characteristics, and laboratory tests were collected. A descriptive analysis was performed in SPSS software version 20. 

Results: Median age at diagnosis was 8.5 years (IQR 4-12). The main clinical characteristic was short stature (90%). Additionally, they presented cardiovascular malformations (35%), renal alterations (26%), hearing disorders, mainly hypoacusis (33%), and neuropsychiatric disorders (44%). The most frequent karyotype was 45,X (51%) followed by 45,X/46,XX (14%). The patients with 45,X karyotype had the most classic clinical characteristics. Patients > 5 years old had a higher proportion of weight excess than the general population. Dyslipidemia was found in 62% and hypothyroidism in 22%. 70% of patients > 11 years received pubertal induction; 23% presented spontaneous puberty and 44% of them required hormo- nal maintenance. 86% received somatropin. 

Conclusion: The patients with Turner syndrome in our study presented a high frequency of short stature and cardiovascular, renal, hearing, endocrine, and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. The diagnosis was delayed due to the lack of clinical suspicion given its variable presentation.