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Unlabelled: In order to prepare growth references for height, weight, and head circumference for Argentine children with Achondroplasia, 228 children (114 boys) aged 0-18 years attending the Growth Clinic at Hospital Garrahan were measured between 1992 and 2009. Centiles were calculated by LMS, a method for summarizing growth data which adjusts for skewness. Curves for centiles are obtained using the formula: [Formula: see text], where Z (α) is the normal equivalent deviate for tail area α; C100α is the weight or height centile corresponding to Z (α), t is age in years, and L(t) is (skewness)(t), M(t) is median, S (t) is coefficient variation and C(100α) (t) indicates the corresponding values of each curve at age t. Boys and girls centiles for height were similar to USA references in infancy and childhood but lower than that references at adolescence. Final height was 1.7 and 5.1 cm below USA achondroplasia references in girls and boys, respectively. Head circumference centiles were, at all ages, lower than USA references in both genders. Countries need national references for clinical growth assessment of their local population. Likewise, specific local growth references for children with some genetic conditions (such us achondroplasia) are valuable tools for detecting additional conditions affecting growth, for estimating final height and for evaluating the impact of growth-promoting treatments., Conclusion: references presented here can also be used in other countries with similar ethnographics characteristics.

Background: Relative macrocephaly describes a large head in relation to stature, and this indicator could be helpful in depicting syndromes with large heads and short stature, providing the existence of some relationship between both measurements in normal children. Objective: The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the existence of a relationship between head circumference (HC), height and weight, (2) to build an instrument for evaluating it and validate its clinical utility. Subjects and methods: Relationship between HC, height and weight was explored in a national sample of 3571 healthy, well nourished boys and girls aged 0-5.99 years. Age-adjusted correlation coefficients calculated were: HC and height, 0.30; HC and weight, 0.37; and height and weight, 0.60. A growth standard of HC to height ratio was constructed using the LMS method with both sexes pooled, and selected centiles and SD scores of HC to height ratio for each age were estimated. Z-scores of HC for age, and HC to height ratio were calculated for 13 children with hypochondroplasia, and 90 with achondroplasia, both conditions associated with macrocephaly. Results: Only four children with hypochondroplasia had HC for age above 2.00 SD, whereas all of them showed SD scores above 2.00 when the HC to height ratio was evaluated. Results suggest that the prepared standard may be of clinical utility. Conclusions: A new standard is proposed, capable of pinpointing children with relative macrocephaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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