PURPOSE: to evaluate the classification and the etiology of girls attended in a Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Clinic. METHODS: The hospital charts of 58 female patients attended from 2000 to 2005 with diagnosis of probable precocious puberty were reviewed and relevant data analyzed. Inclusion criteria were breast and/or pubic hair growth before eight years old. The girls were classified according to the clinic aspects and the supplementary exams they had been submitted to, into one of the categories: central precocious puberty (CPP), precocious pseudopuberty, premature thelarche and premature pubarche. RESULTS: from the 58 reviewed cases, 28 girls were diagnosed as CPP, one as precocious pseudopuberty, ten as premature thelarche and 19 as premature pubarche. All the cases of CPP had an idiopathic etiology, except for one girl whose activation of the ypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis was secondary to congenital adrenal hyperplasia. There was one case of precocious pseudopuberty due to McCune-Albright syndrome. All the cases of premature thelarche had an idiopathic etiology, except for one girl who had primary hypothyroidism. All the cases of premature pubarche had an idiopathic etiology. CONCLUSIONS: among the cases diagnosed as precocious puberty, CPP was the leading diagnosis and most cases had an idiopathic etiology. Organic causes leading to precocious puberty were infrequent.
Puberty,precocious; Developmental disabilities; Breast; Hair; Hypothyroidism
