Growth Hormone Treatment: First Results of the Partnership Program for the Establishment of a Growth Center at the University Clinic of Pediatrics –Pleven

Summary In March 2018, in the Clinic of Pediatrics of the University Hospital “G. Stranski ”- Pleven, we have created a Center for diagnosing and treating children with growth disorders, in active collaboration with an established expert center. During the study, 53 children with height <-2 SDS were referred to the newly established Growth Center. The diagnoses of children receiving treatment with growth hormone (GH) were made in clinical settings based on the history, physical status, auxological assessment, imaging studies, basal and stimulated hormone tests, genetic tests. The children‘s mean age was 9.7 ± 4.5 years, with a significant gender difference (p>0.05), living mainly in cities. For 18 months, we treated a total of 11 children (54.5% male) with an average age at the start of GH therapy of 8.1 ± 4.4 years and an average growth velocity of 10.3 ± 7.7 cm/year. Treatment with GH was introduced in Pleven after successfully establishing the Growth Center in the Clinic of Pediatrics. The first results showed a significant increase in the number of diagnosed and treated children whose follow-up we found an acceleration in growth and bone maturation, positive body composition changes, and lack of side effects from the treatment.