Growth and rhGH use in children with congenital chronic kidney disease: a multicentric contemporary study.

Introduction: Growth retardation is common in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and reflects CKD severity. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment was approved for CKD in 1995. We describe here treatment patterns and growth outcomes in children with congenital CKD in three pediatric nephrology departments.

Methods: We included patients with kidney transplantation (KT) performed between 2015 and 2020 at an age of 3 to 18 years. Data were collected at four timepoints: CKD diagnosis, initiation of rhGH, initiation of dialysis, and transplantation.

Results: Among 87 patients, 42 (48%) received rhGH. The median height at treatment initiation was -2.0 SDS, with a median height gain of +0.7 SD (p<0.0001) in 1.7 years. Growth outcomes were negatively associated with older age and CKD stage 5. The 45 rhGH-untreated patients lost 0.6 SD (p=0.02) from diagnosis to transplantation but maintained their height in the normal range. At transplantation, 26% of rhGH-treated and 9% of rhGH-untreated patients had a height SDS below -2 SDS. rhGH was initiated by nephrologists in 52% of cases and endocrinologists in 48%. Deviations from marketing authorization criteria were observed in 68% of cases: endocrinologists typically prescribed rhGH for children under 2 years, while nephrologists prescribed it for patients with a height above -2 SDS.

Conclusion: About half of CKD patients received rhGH treatment, resulting in significant height gain. Untreated patients were not adversely affected in terms of height. These data highlight the importance of careful monitoring of growth and rhGH treatment if needed in patients with CKD.