Traumatic brain injury is a rarely reported cause of growth hormone deficiency.
We determined the frequency of traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related growth hormone deficiency (GHD) from a large registry of growth hormone-deficient subjects and compared these subjects' clinical characteristics with those of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD). A surprisingly small number of subjects with TBI-induced GHD (n = 141) were registered compared with those with IGHD (n = 23,722). At onset of treatment, the subjects with TBI-induced GHD were older (P = .045), had lower height velocity (P < .001), had a greater number of other pituitary hormone deficiencies (P < .001) and, after a year of recombinant human GH treatment, demonstrated a greater change in height velocity (P = .016). We speculate that TBI-induced GHD may be a neglected phenomenon in childhood, and recommend prospective longitudinal studies to explore its natural history and frequency.
McDonald
Anna
A
Department of Pediatrics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Lindell
Margaretha
M
Dunger
David B
DB
Acerini
Carlo L
CL
D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000172:deficiency*; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D013006:Growth Hormone