THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LABORATORY CLASSIFICATION OF ISOLATED GROWTH HORMONE DEFICIENCY.

Background:Short Stature (SS) is defined as a standing height more than 2 standard deviations (SDs) below the mean (or below the 2.5 percentile) for sex. Causes of short stature include familial short stature, constitutional delay, endocrinopathies (e.g. Growth Hormone Deficiency), chronic systemic diseases and syndromic causes of SS. Aim of the study:To show the significance of the laboratory classification of isolated GHD to help for adjustment of dosages and duration of GH treatment. Methods:A retrospective study of children with isolated Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) who have been registered in GH Unit in the Al-Zahraa teaching hospital for Maternity and Children at Al Najaf city, Iraq from March 2012 to September 2016. A total number of 122 patients included in this study all of them on GH replacement .The population study were classified according to post-stimulation peak serum GH level into Mild GHD (>8 − <10ng/ml ) ,Moderate GHD (≥5 − ≤ 8ng/ml) and Severe GHD (< 5ng/ml). The cases also grouped according to age into 3 age groups (Group A: < 6 years, Group B: ≥ 6 − <11 years and Group C: ≥11years), sex and residency. In each of these age groups, comparison done between Mild, Moderate and severe isolated GHD. Results:This study showed that in Group A (35 cases) there was no statistically significant difference between Mild, Moderate and Severe isolated GHD regarding pre-treatment height and rate of the height velocity after the first year of GH treatment (p-value=0.6 for pre-treatment height and 0.74 for rate of height velocity H.V.). In Group B (50 cases) and Group C (37 cases) also no statistically significant difference, Group B (p-value=0.53 for pre-treatment height and p-value= 0.92 for H.V.) and Group C (p-value=0.63 for pre-treatment height, p-value= 0.92 for H.V.) Conclusion:No significance of classification of short stature children with isolated GHD according to stimulated peak GH value with cut-off less 10 ng/ml.