Ibbertson H K, Manning P J, Holdaway I M, Gamble G, Synek B J
Department of Medicine, University of Auckland School of Medicine, New Zealand.
Lancet. 1991 Jan 19;337(8734):154-6. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)90812-4.
Palpable enlargement of the costochondral junctions on the anterolateral chest wall was detected in 26 of 27 patients with acromegaly. In a further study three doctors wearing eyemasks examined a further 13 acromegalic patients and 12 control subjects; costochondral enlargement was detected with a sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 86%. It was not found in normal subjects in the absence of previous chest injury. The presence and extent of costochondral enlargement was unrelated to the duration of active or cured acromegaly, the initial or present growth hormone concentrations, or other clinical features of growth hormone excess. Costochondral enlargement is a common clinical sign in acromegaly and can serve as a biological marker of previous or current growth hormone excess.
27例肢端肥大症患者中，有26例在胸壁前外侧可触及肋软骨连接处增大。在另一项研究中，三名戴眼罩的医生对另外13例肢端肥大症患者和12名对照者进行了检查；肋软骨增大的检测灵敏度为77%，特异性为86%。在没有既往胸部损伤的正常受试者中未发现这种情况。肋软骨增大的存在和程度与活动期或已治愈的肢端肥大症的病程、初始或目前的生长激素浓度或生长激素过多的其他临床特征无关。肋软骨增大是肢端肥大症常见的临床体征，可作为既往或目前生长激素过多的生物学标志物。
