Introduction:

Premature pubarche occurs in girls before the age of 8 or boys before the age of 9 and is a sign of precocious puberty associated with increased growth acceleration. Precocious puberty can be caused, among others, by nonclassic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).

Case presentation:

This is a case of a 4 1/2-year-old who developed premature pubarche six months before consultation, and whose parents were first-degree cousins. She had advanced bone age, her external genitalia were normal and her height was inconsistent with her mid-parental height. After performing an adrenocorticotropic hormone test (ACTH test) and other hormone tests, it was found that she had high levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), which allowed diagnosing her with nonclassic CAH. Based on this diagnosis, glucorticoid therapy was ordered, and after one year of starting the treatment she had a favorable clinical outcome and did not show any secondary sex characteristics or bone age progression.

Conclusion:

Nonclassic CAH is the most frequent cause of precocious puberty. Considering that this type of hyperplasia may be asymptomatic during the early days or years of life, its diagnosis must be suspected in children with precocious puberty, increased growth acceleration and advanced bone age.

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