Abstract
It is now possible to study short-term growth by knemometry, a non-invasive technique measuring the exact distance between heel and knee in sitting children. During the measurement the lower leg length (LLL) is determined by repeatedly moving the child's knee under the measuring board. Each single measurement consists of six independent estimations, the SD of which is <0.1 mm. In 14 HGH deficient patients we saw a significant (P < 0.01) elongation of LLL 24 hrs after single injections of 4 IU HGH i.m. This increase, although lasting for about 24 hrs only, was 0.47 ± 0.10(SE) mm and exceeded the mean daily LLL growth of 6 healthy children (0.07 ± 0.10 mm) by the factor 7. Since daily s.c. injections of HGH are more physiological than alternating i.m. doses, we compared LLL growth rates after transfer from 3 times weekly i.m. to daily s.c. administration of HGH (same weekly dose) in 7 HGH deficient patients, age 5 - 20 yrs. All had been treated with HGH for 6 months to 7 yrs before the study. While LLL growth rates ranged from -0.015 mm/day (no growth) to 0.07 mm/d during i.m. treatment, they were significantly higher (0.047 to 0.084 mm/d) in all patients 30 - 127 days after changing to daily s.c. treatment. In conclusion, daily s.c. application of HGH induces catch-up growth after transfer from alternating i.m. administration and thus seems to be the preferable regimen.
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Hermanussen, M., Sippell, W. Catch-up growth after changing from 3 times weekly i.m. to daily s. c. injection of human growth hormone (HGH) monitored by knemometry in HGH deficient children. Pediatr Res 18, 1209 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00048
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198411000-00048