Brown E
Physician Exec. 1997 Feb;23(2):39-41.
The case study of growth hormone in short-stature children offers an example of the high cost of bioengineered therapies and the attendant ethical concerns. Despite uncertainties as to its efficacy, it is estimated that the annual U.S. expenditure for growth hormone, which costs about $20,000 per year for a 30 kg child, exceeds $375 million dollars. Ultimately, at this point in its evolution, the use of GH therapy illustrates the dilemma commonly created by new medical technology--the chasm between what can be done and what should be done. Unfortunately, the knowledge of what can be done precedes the understanding of what should be done.
对身材矮小儿童使用生长激素的案例研究，体现了生物工程疗法的高昂成本以及随之而来的伦理问题。尽管其疗效存在不确定性，但据估计，美国每年在生长激素上的支出超过3.75亿美元，对于一个体重30公斤的儿童来说，每年使用生长激素的花费约为2万美元。最终，在其发展的现阶段，生长激素疗法的使用说明了新医疗技术通常会造成的困境——即能够做到的事情与应该做的事情之间的差距。不幸的是，对能够做到的事情的了解先于对应该做的事情的理解。
