Near adult heights after growth hormone treatment in patients with idiopathic short stature or idiopathic growth hormone deficiency.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Determination of near adult height (NAH) after recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy in patients with idiopathic short stature (ISS, maximum stimulated growth hormone [MSGH] > 10 ng/ml) or idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD, MSGH < or = 10 ng/ml) enrolled in the National Cooperative Growth Study Substudy 2. METHODS: Female NAH was defined as height at age 18 or age 14 plus Tanner stage 4; male NAH was defined as height at age 20 or age 16 plus Tanner stage 4 or 5. RESULTS: Both groups had similar enrollment heights: IGHD -2.7 +/- 0.7 versus ISS -2.8 +/- 0.6 (mean height standard deviation score [SDS] +/- SD). After rhGH treatment, there were no significant differences in NAH between the IGHD and ISS groups (-1.4 +/- 1.0 versus -1.6 +/- 1.0). Enrollment height SDS and MSGH value were significant predictors of delta height for the children with IGHD but not for the children with ISS (R2 = 0.45 IGHD versus R2 = 0.22 ISS). CONCLUSION: We conclude that MSGH values should not be used as the primary criterion for rhGH therapy.