Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3354

Introduction: Response to growth hormone (GH) treatment varies greatly not only between different conditions, but even between patients with same condition (“poor responders” vs. “good responders”). Many publications suggest that multiple factors influence response to GH treatment. Some studies have reported that body mass index, mid-parental height (MPH), bone age, height at the start of GH treatment and GH peak during provocative tests (insulin and L-DOPA test) are important factors for successful outcome of growth hormone treatment (rhGH) in children with isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD).

Objective: Aim of the study is to determine factors associated with better response to growth hormone supplementation during first year of therapy.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 95 patients under the age of 15 years who were diagnosed with isolated GH deficiency using insulin and L- DOPA as stimulants, for assessment of GH secretion, and who received rhGH therapy for at least 1 year in the Pediatric Clinic of University Clinical Centre Nis between 01.01.2017- 01.01.2022.

Results: We collected data of 95 children (53 male and 42 female) with IGHD who had received rGH. The mean (SD) age at diagnosis and initiation of rGH was 10,31±3,27 years, while the mean bone age was 8.59±3.14 years. 44,2 % of patients were in prepubertal stage (Tanner 1). The Δheight SDS during the first year of GH treatment was correlated negatively with BMI SDS (r=0.017, P 0,87), maternal height (r=0.70, P =0.50) and chronological age at the start of GH therapy (r=0,279, P 0,187), but positively correlated with bone age (r=0.926,P < 0.01), paternal height (r=0.265,P < 0.01) and target height (r = 0.300,P < 0.01). Also the patients were classified into two groups according to the peak GH values in the provocation tests (group I: peak GH <3 μg/l, n = 61; group II: peak GH between 3 and 7 μg/l, n = 34). There was not a statistically significant association between the first-year HV SDS and the peak GH value in provocation tests in multiple regression analyses.

Conclusions: The present model to predict first-year response to GH treatment might allow more tailored and personalized GH treatment in prepubertal children with idiopathic GHD.