Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 6, 2023; 11(28): 6715-6724
Published online Oct 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i28.6715
Effects of different doses of long-acting growth hormone in treating children with growth hormone deficiency
Wei Xia, Ting Wang, Jia-Yan Pan
Wei Xia, Ting Wang, Department of Pediatrics, The First People's Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China
Jia-Yan Pan, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, The First People's Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Pan JY contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, data analysis and software of the study, and supervised the study; Xia W contributed to validation of the study; Pan JY and Xia W analyzed the data; Ting Wang T contributed to resources; Xia W collected the data; Pan JY drafted the manuscript; Xia W reviewed and edited the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Wuhu No. 1 People's hospital (Approval No. WHSDYRMYY-26).
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jia-Yan Pan, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, The First People's Hospital of Wuhu, No. 1 Chizhu Shandong Road, Jiujiang District, Wuhu 241000, Anhui Province, China. jiayanpanvxv@163.com
Received: July 12, 2023
Peer-review started: July 12, 2023
First decision: August 2, 2023
Revised: August 3, 2023
Accepted: September 4, 2023
Article in press: September 4, 2023
Published online: October 6, 2023
Processing time: 75 Days and 7.4 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The attention paid to short stature in children has been increasingly highlighted. Numerous causes can lead to short stature in children, among which growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a significant factor.

Research motivation

The use of polyethylene glycol composite human growth hormone (PEG rhGH) has certain side effects, and its cost can cause certain economic pressure on patients.

Research objectives

This study aimed to investigate the long-term efficacy and safety of different doses of long-acting PEG-rhGH in the treatment of GHD in children.

Research methods

The authors selected 44 pediatric patients diagnosed with GHD. 23 patients were administered a high dose of long-acting PEG-rhGH at 0.2 mg/kg subcutaneously each week, forming the high-dose group. Meanwhile, 21 patients were given a lower dose of long-acting PEG-rhGH at 0.14 mg/kg subcutaneously each week, establishing the low-dose group. The patients’ height, annual growth velocity (GV), height standard deviation score (HtSDS), chronological age, bone age (BA), serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), thyroid function, fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, and other side effects were monitored.

Research results

After 1 year of treatment, the GV, HtSDS, IGF-1, BA, and IGFBP-3 in both groups significantly improved compared to the pre-treatment levels. Moreover, when comparing GV, HtSDS, IGF-1, BA, and IGFBP-3 between the two groups, there were no statistically significant differences either before or after the treatment. During the treatment intervals of 0-1.0 years and 1.0-2.0 years, both patient groups experienced a slowdown in GV and a decline in HtSDS improvement.

Research conclusions

Initiating treatment with a low dosage of PEG-rhGH can achieve similar therapeutic outcomes at lower costs, thereby alleviating the financial burden on patients and their families.

Research perspectives

Observe the therapeutic effect of GHD based on different doses of PEG-rhGH.