Growth Hormone Responsiveness in Two Groups of Children With Significantly Short Stature

Using a small dose of growth hormone, growth responsiveness was evaluated in preadolescent short children with a diagnosis of hypopituitarism (N = 35) and/or idiopathic short stature (N = 59) who were studied before and during growth hormone therapy. Within each group, four dosage groups were established using a growth hormone dose of either 0.15 mg/kg or 0.30 mg/kg per week. No significant differences in any of the pretreatment parameters were noted, except for the endogenous growth hormone levels in the hypopituitary patients. Growth rates of the two diagnostic groups and the four dosage groups did not differ significantly. It is suggested that auxology rather than testing for levels of endogenous growth hormone should be the criterion for growth hormone therapy in the treatment of significantly short children.