Combined oral L-dopa and propranolol for growth hormone provocation.

A convenient test of growth hormone (GH) provocation using oral doses of L-dopa and propranolol (L + P) is compared with insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH) in 28 children and adolescents with short stature. In eight of these children, growth hormone deficiency was diagnosed when GH failed to rise above 7 ng/ml. The GH levels of the remaining GH-responsive children were significantly higher after administration of L + P (P less than .05) when compared with IIH given before L + P on the same morning or on a separate day.