Primary response in GHD children treatment as apredictor for long-term therapy effectiveness therapy effectiveness.

Abstract

Short stature in growth hormone deficiency (GHD) can be treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), which is proven to be both safe and effective. However, aconsiderable number of patients does not achieve satisfying therapy outcomes. To evaluate the predictive effect of height increase in the first year of rhGH treatment on long-term therapy outcomes. 165 short-stature children (mean age 10.72 ±3.33 years; 63% males), diagnosed with GHD, treated with rhGH for at least one year (mean follow-up 4.32 ±1.80 years), divided into 2 groups according to the change in height standard deviation score (SDS) after the first year of rhGH treatment: good responders (GR) and poor responders (PR). Then, in one-year intervals, patient's chronological age, bone age, height, weight, insulin-like growth factor level, and rhGH dose were all assessed. In the GR group, mean height velocity SDS up to five years of observation was 1.19 ±0.41/year and in the PR group 0.59 ±0.38/year. The differences were statistically significant (p<0.05). The primary response to the rhGH treatment in GHD children seems to be agood predictor for long-term therapy outcomes.