title: Growth of children with end-stage renal disease undergoing daily hemodialysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this report is to describe the effect of daily hemodialysis on the growth of children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a prospective, observational study on 24 children with ESRD undergoing daily hemodialysis (DHD). The control group comprised 26 children on concurrent conventional hemodialysis (CHD), and the follow-up for both groups was 9.3 ± 3.0 months. No patient received growth hormone (GH) therapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the onset of the study, the height-for-age Z-score was -2.12 ± 1.54 in the CHD group and -2.84 ± 2.27 in the DHD group (p = 0.313). Assuming an increase of 0.5 standard deviation scores (SDS) of the height-for-age parameter as an improvement of growth, there were 33 % of patients in the DHD group and 8 % in the CHD group (p = 0.035). The cumulative probability of gain in height for age at 12 months was 40 % in the DHD group versus 15 % in the CHD group (p = 0.047). Also, 98 % of patients in the DHD group had an adequate total caloric intake, whereas 38 % in the CHD group reached this goal (p < 0.001). No patient left the study due to intensification of the dialysis modality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data show that the DHD favored a 0.5 SDS height gain in a third of patients without GH treatment. Dialysis intensification was not a cause for treatment dropouts, and DHD should be considered as a treatment for selected cases, especially small children.
authors.affiliation: Dialysis and Pediatric Kidney Transplants, Hospital Samaritano de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Fernanda Carvalho
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: de Camargo
authors.forename: Cristina Lucia
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Shirlei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komi
authors.forename: Eliseth Ribeiro
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Leão
authors.forename: Paulo Cesar Koch
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Nogueira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011446:Prospective Studies; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome