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medpundit |
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Sunday, October 16, 2005When I spoke with Allen last fall, he chuckled about a new growth chart that Eli Lilly had begun to circulate to doctors in this country. It looks like the standard-issue growth chart put out by the Centers for Disease Control; in fact, it is the C.D.C. chart, with one technicolor exception. There's a bright red line at the 1.2 percentile - the cutoff point for F.D.A.-approved use. The new chart may sensitize doctors to potential growth problems in very short children, but it may also increase the odds that doctors (and parents) will equate short stature with a medical problem. And that line, on a medical document, stakes out a potential market that changes the number of children who might end up on growth hormone. By Eli Lilly's own estimates, there are 400,000 children between the ages of 7 and 15 who are at or below the red line, although the company figures that less than 10 percent will end up being treated. Ah, but it's just a friendly educational reminder! posted by Sydney on 10/16/2005 04:31:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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