International Classification of Pediatric Endocrine Diagnoses

For the ICPED, a pragmatic approach was chosen similar to that used in the original ECPED, in which the 14 chapters were developed from different starting points. The first five chapters were based on the presenting clinical symptom, such as short stature, tall stature, variations in pubertal development, variations in sex and gender development, and overweight/obesity. The next five chapters were based on anatomical structures: pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and central nervous system; thyroid gland; adrenal glands; testes and the male reproductive tract, and ovaries and the female reproductive tract. The next three chapters describe disorders of physiologic systems: glucose and lipid metabolism; calcium and phosphate metabolism, and salt and water regulation. The final chapter provides a heterogeneous selection of syndromes with endocrine features. Thus, from the list of chapters one can see the various ways in which diagnoses can be approached. Also in line with its predecessor, the ICPED has a treelike hierarchical structure using codes that combine numbers and letters for clarity (for example, 4A.2b.1c). Each successive level of the ‘tree’ represents a more specific diagnosis than the level above it. The web-based ICPED tool has an elegant and highly functional search capability, and for certain diagnoses where available, the system provides hyperlinks to relevant codes in the InternationThe year 2016 witnesses an important step forward in pediatric endocrinology: the release of the International Classification of Pediatric Endocrine Diagnoses (ICPED) [1] , an internet-based update and expansion of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) Classification of Paediatric Endocrine Diagnoses (ECPED) [2] published in hard copy by Karger in 2007. The revision and expansion of the original ESPE Classification tool has been the voluntary work of international groups of over 60 pediatric endocrinologists with special expertise in particular topics, representing a collaboration between eight pediatric endocrine societies (the ICPED consortium; see website for details) that started work in 2011. Fourteen groups were formed to revise and edit the chapters, each under the guidance of a chapter coordinator. The project was coordinated and edited by Charmian A. Quigley, Sydney, Australia, and Michael B. Ranke, Tubingen, Germany, who have to be applauded for very hard and excellent work over a long period of time. To promote alignment with other terminology systems, the ICPED has been provided to the World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases (version 11) development team and to the National Institutes/National Center for Biotechnology Information of Health Pediatric Terminology Project for their terminology updates and development programs. Published online: September 3, 2016 HORMONE RESEARCH IN PAEDIATRICS