title: Egyptian growth hormone deficient patients: demographic, auxological characterization and response to growth hormone therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study growth response to growth hormone (GH) treatment in growth hormone-deficient (GHD) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 477 GHD children were included in the study. Patients were followed up for a minimum of 1 year and up to 6 years, anthropometric assessment was performed every 3 months, while thyroid profile was followed every 6 months. Student's t-test was used for analysis of two quantitative variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with complete GHD and multiple pituitary hormone deficiency were significantly shorter as expressed in their height standard deviation score (SDS), target height - height (SDS) and a more bone age delay. Patients with complete GHD showed better growth response compared with those with partial GHD in the first 2 years of therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that anthropometric assessment is the cornerstone in GHD diagnosis and follow-up, where catch up growth occurs in the first 2 years of therapy followed by a plateau.
authors: Pediatrics Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Nermin
authors: N
authors: Salah
authors: Soha M
authors: SM
authors: Abd El Dayem
authors: Fatma
authors: F
authors: El Mogy
authors: Maha
authors: M
authors: Amin
authors: Marwa
authors: M
authors: Ibrahim
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001846:Bone Development / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006493:Heparin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019382:Human Growth Hormone; C034460:heparinized hydrophilic polymer; D006493:Heparin