SHORT STATURE ASSOCIATED WITH INTRAUTERINE GROWTH-RETARDATION - FINALHEIGHT OF UNTREATED AND GROWTH HORMONE-TREATED CHILDREN

Short term studies have demonstrated the acceleration of growth veloci ty after the administration of GH in short-children born with intraute rine growth retardation (IUGR). We report the final heights of 70 IUGR children whose short stature was attributed to idiopathic GH deficien cy (peak plasma GH <10 ng/mL, at 2 provocative tests) and treated with GH at a mean dosage of 0.4 +/- 0.1 U/kg . week during an average of 4 .6 +/- 2.5 yr. They were compared to a control group of 40 untreated s hort children born with IUGR, without GH deficiency. At the time of ev aluation? age, auxological data, and pubertal status were similar in t he 2 groups (height, -2.9 +/- 0.8 and -2.8 +/- 0.7 so score). Final he ights were comparable in both groups of children (-2 +/- 0.7 and -2.2 +/- 1.1 SD score). A multivariate analysis identified 4 independent pr edictors of final height, namely target height, age and body mass inde x at evaluation, and GH treatment. Treatment nias associated with a ga in of 0.6 sn score, suggesting a final height gain of about 3.4 cm. Fi fty-three of 70 treated children were reevaluated after completion of growth, and 43 of 53 had a peak plasma GH level of 10 ng/mL of more. A uxological characteristics of these 53 patients were not different fro m those of nonreevaluated patients. We believe that the transient char acter of the GH deficiency in most patients and the nonstringent initi al criteria used for the diagnosis of GH deficiency render the spontan eous growth potentials identical in the 2 groups of patients. Our data , therefore, suggest that GH treatment at this dosage has a limited ef fect on the final height of short children born with IUGR.