Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Deficiency of growth hormone (GH) in children is manifested by pronounced stunting (below −2 sigmal abnormalities (SD)), different changes in body composition. Frequency of occurrence varies from 1:4000 to 1:10000 newborns.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of treatment by comparing the dynamics of growth of those with isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) and of those with panhypopituitarism (PHP).

Materials and methods: Medical History of 47 patients aged from 3 to 18 years diagnosed with IGHD and PHP in 2006–2018 have been analyzed in the Republican Center for Pediatric Endocrinology. Microsoft Excel, SPSS have been used for statistical data analysis.

Findings: Among 47 patients participating in the study (66% girls, 34% boys) eighty-three per cent (83%) is with IGHD and seventeen per cent (17%) with PHP. It was revealed that before treatment, 36 patients had a significantly short stature (from –6 to –2.01 SDS); SDS of 11 patients (2 of them with PHP) was from −1.9 to −1. At the time of diagnosis, the mean height SDS was −2.4 in children with IGHD, after completion of treatment, SDS was −1,4; height SDS was −2.7 before treatment and −0.8 after completion of treatment in children with PHP. The largest values of STH maximum level according to stimulation tests was 6.8±5.2 ng/ml in group with IGHD and 2.56±1.65 ng/ml in group with PHP (P<0.05). IGF-1 was below normal range in 76.6%, after treatment it was below normal range in 46.68% of patients; the IGF-1 level in the group with PHP was lower compared to the IGHD group (P<0.05) and were observed in 87.5%. After treatment completion, IGF-1 remained below reference values in 87.5% of patients with PHP. A lagging of the bone age from the passport in the IGHD group before treatment was 2 years 5 months ±1 year 3 months, after treatment it was 2 years 5 months ±2 years; in the group with PHP it was 2 years 11 months ±1 year 4 months before treatment and 3 year 7 months ±4 year 7 months after treatment (P<0.05). The average dynamics of growth during the entire period of treatment in patients with IGHD is 6.9±1.62 cm/year, while in patients with PHP it is 7.9±4.3 cm/year (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Comparative analysis of the effectiveness of growth hormone treatment showed a significant dynamics of growth, more obvious in patients with panhypopituitarism.