ESPE Abstracts

Background: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a disorder affecting children's linear growth and leading to short stature without initiation of treatment with growth hormone (GH). Administration of GH has been shown to be safe and effective to increase children's final height in GHD. It is important to start the treatment as early as the GHD is diagnosed. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the growth velocity and height standard deviation score (HtSDS) in pre- and post-pubertal children with (GHD), receiving growth hormone (GH) treatment during the first year of treatment.

Introduction: In the investigation, 23 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of GHD and treated with GH during one year were enrolled. They were divided into two groups: pre-pubertal (9 patients with a mean age of 11.4 years (age range 8-16)) and post-pubertal (14 patients with a mean age of 5.6 years (age range 3-7)). The male:female ratio in the two groups was 1:1.3 and 2:1, respectively. The height was measured at the beginning of the treatment and after one year of treatment to evaluate the effectiveness of GH therapy in promoting growth velocity in these children during the first year of intervention.

Results: Both pre- and post-pubertal groups showed a significant increase in height after one year of GH treatment obviously. The pre-pubertal group showed a significantly greater increase in height velocity compared to the post-pubertal age group mean of 8.86cm (3.5-20.4cm)/year versus the mean of 8.65cm (3.3-15cm)/year. The difference in HtSDS was also seen. In the pre-pubertal group before initiating GH therapy HtSDS mean was -2.66 (-4.6÷-1.63), and after treatment: -2.36 (-4.97÷-1.3). In the post-pubertal group respectively HtSDS mean increased from -2.76 (-5.68÷-0.15) to-2.58 (-5÷-0.37). Based on these results there is a statistically significant raise in HtSDS more in the pre-pubertal group (+0.3SD) than in the post-pubertal group (+0.18SD) (P<0.05). No statistical significance was observed in height velocity during the first year of GH treatment depending on sex (P>0.05).

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that GH therapy is an effective treatment for children with GHD to promote growth, particularly if initiated before puberty. Early diagnosis and treatment of GHD in pre-pubertal children are essential to optimize the growth and development.