Precocious sexual development in a male toddler caused by unrecognized transdermal exposure to testosterone: case report and review of the literature
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Svetlana Azova
and
Joseph Wolfsdorf
Abstract
Objectives
Exogenous exposure to transdermal testosterone is often overlooked as a cause of precocious sexual development in children.
Case presentation
A 16-month-old male presented for a second opinion consultation before commencing treatment with bicalutamide and anastrozole for a presumptive diagnosis of familial gonadotropin-independent male-limited sexual precocity. Enlargement of the penis was first observed at four months of age. The initial evaluation showed isolated elevation of his plasma testosterone level; however, by 16 months, his testosterone level was prepubertal and no pathogenic variants in the LHC GR gene were identified. The history revealed that his grandfather, who had cared for him regularly in the first year of life, had used testosterone gel for treatment of hypogonadism.
Conclusions
Despite the 2009 “black box” warning issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding potential consequences of transdermal testosterone exposure to women and children, this continues to be an important cause of sexual precocity in children. Children are often subjected to unnecessary and costly evaluation before this exposure is recognized, underscoring the importance of obtaining a thorough medical, family, and social history tailored to the differential diagnosis.
Funding source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Award Identifier / Grant number: 5T32DK007699-39
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Research funding: Svetlana Azova was supported by grant 5T32DK007699-39 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
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Author contributions: Both authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
References
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Covid19 pandemic and pediatric endocrinology and metabolism—Are we through with it?
- Original Articles
- Invisible burden of COVID-19: enzyme replacement therapy disruptions
- Anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal profiles of the partially admixed pygmoid group in Rampasasa (Flores, Indonesia)
- Etiologies, profile patterns and characteristics of children with short stature in Jordan
- Sexual maturity assessment in Indian children—a study from western India
- Bone density and bone health alteration in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: a prospective observational study
- Sensory, voluntary, and motor postural control in children and adolescents with mucopolysaccharidosis
- Prevalence and MRI findings of incidentally detected pituitary non-enhancing lesion on brain MRI in children
- Oral glucose tolerance response curve predicts disposition index but not other cardiometabolic risk factors in healthy adolescents
- Early menarche is associated with insulin-resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adolescents with obesity
- Liraglutide combined with intense lifestyle modification in the management of obesity in adolescents
- Exploring the inter-subject variability in the relationship between glucose monitoring metrics and glycated hemoglobin for pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes
- Screening for asymptomatic diabetes and metabolic comorbidities in pediatric patients during therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- Frequency and characterization of mutations in genes in a large cohort of patients referred to MODY registry
- Experience with the targeted next-generation sequencing in the diagnosis of hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets
- Newborn screening and molecular features of patients with multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency in Quanzhou, China
- Case Reports
- Dual diagnosis of Ochoa syndrome and Niemann-Pick disease type B in a consanguineous family
- Severe hypercalcemia in an infant with unbalanced translocation of chromosomes 2 and 8: a possible contribution of 2p duplication
- Epileptic phenotype in late-onset hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia successfully treated by diazoxide
- Precocious sexual development in a male toddler caused by unrecognized transdermal exposure to testosterone: case report and review of the literature
