ESPE Abstracts

Background: GH treatment in childhood is proven to increase adult final height in many indications. In Lebanon, no other study was done to evaluate the response to GH treatment.

Objective and hypotheses: Identify the prevalence of each indication and evaluate the annual response to treatment based on growth velocity, bone age (BA), bone age on height age (BA/HA) and bone age on chronological age (BA/CA).

Method: The population is 50 child, presented at Hotel-Dieu de France hospital for short stature. Information is collected on diagnosis and annual evaluations during treatment: weight, height, value of IGF1 and BA.

Results: GH deficiency (CGHD and PGHD) is the main indication (50%) followed by intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (36%), idiopathic short stature (ISS) (8%) and lastly comes Turner syndrome (6%). The age of onset of treatment is earliest in IUGR where stature delay is between −2.8 and −3DS and their treatment was for the longest period in our study. BA/HA and BA/CA ratios are lowest in IUGR (<1) where it is expected the best response to treatment. Growth velocity during the first year of treatment is 11 cm in CGHD followed by ISS (10.3 cm). Catch-up growth after 2 years of treatment is the best in Turner patients (+1.7 SD) followed by IUGR (+1.5 SD). It gradually decreases with time in all indications. It is the best during the first year of treatment in children under 6 years of age compared to children over 6 years. No adverse effects were noted in our population.

Conclusion: The response to GH treatment is good in its various indications, especially in children treated early. A study on the national level should be considered to identify the various factors that influence final height in children treated with GH.