Growth hormone use in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Impaired linear growth is a known complication of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the use of growth hormone (GH) in this population is not well-described. The primary aim of this study is to determine whether growth hormone use in pediatric IBD leads to improved height outcomes.

This was a retrospective chart review of patients with IBD aged 0-21 years followed at a single center between 2018 and 2021 treated with at least 1 year of GH. Records collected included demographics, IBD phenotype, IBD disease activity scores, medications, weight z-score, height z-score, bone age, and details of GH therapy including testing for GH deficiency. The primary outcome measure was change in height z-score after 1 year of GH treatment.

Forty-six patients were identified and 18 were excluded. Of the 28 patients included (7 female; 25.0 %), 26 (92.9 %) had a diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) and 2 (7.1 %) had ulcerative colitis (UC). The mean (SD) age at GH initiation was 9.6 (3.4) years. Among all participants, there was a significant mean difference in height z-score from baseline to 1 year on therapy (-2.25 vs. -1.50, respectively; difference, 0.75; 95 % CI, 0.56 to 0.94; p<0.001). Among the 19 subjects that completed GH therapy there was a significant mean difference between baseline and final height z-scores (-2.41 vs. -0.77, respectively; difference, 1.64; 95 % CI, 1.30 to 1.98; p<0.001).

GH use was associated with improved height outcomes. The pediatric IBD patients in this cohort had significant improvements in height z-scores both after one year on therapy and at completion of GH therapy.