Clinical evaluation of recombinant human growth hormone injection in children with growth hormone deficiency

Abstract

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) has been widely used in the clinical treatment of growth hormone deficiency. To simplify the injection process and increase drug compliance, application of the GH injection has become a new treatment plan in recent years. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rhGH injection for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in children in China. In a nationwide, noncomparative, prospective, randomized, open trial, 31 children with confirmed complete GHD received subcutaneous injection of rhGH at 0.25 mg/kg·wk (0.107 IU/kg·d). The injection was given daily and the total weekly amount was separated into 6–7 injections. The patients were followed up at 3-month intervals and the treatment duration was 12 months. The height (HT), annual growth velocity (GV), mean height standard deviation score (HT SDS), blood serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), and bone maturity before and after treatment were compared, and the safety of the treatment was analyzed. The mean HT, GV, and HT SDS were increased from 109.0±14 cm, 2.7±0.9 cm/yr, and −4.62 ±1.46 at baseline to 121.8±13.4 cm, 12.9±3.3 cm/yr, and −2.47±1.86 after 12 months of treatment, respectively (P<0.001). At the same time, blood IGF-I and IGFBP- 3 were increased significantly [41.27±64.43 μg/L vs 159.21±167.92 μg/L and 1540.00±1325.11 mg/L vs 3533.93±1413.82 mg/L, respectively (P<0.001)]. The bone age assessments performed 6 and 12 months after the treatment showed that no advanced bone maturation was noted. No serious adverse events occurred during the treatment, and the drug-related adverse events were mainly decreased thyroid function. We conclude that rhGH injection is a safe and effective drug for treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children.