Growth in children with chronic renal failure and after renal transplantation

Abstract

Growth retardation is a major problem for many children with chronic renal failure (CRF) and transplantation. The aim of this study is to assess the relation between height, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), hormonal alterations in children with CRF on regular haemodialysis (HD), and the impact of functioning graft after kidney transplantation.Thirty-six hemodialysed children were included in the study beside 32 pediatric transplants. Mean duration on HD was 14.72 +/- 7.73 months for the CRF group, while the mean interval after transplantation was 1.97 +/- 0.9 years for the second group. Moreover, twenty healthy children of matched age and sex served as controls. Assessment of growth parameters included height, expressed as standard deviation scores (Ht SDS) for chronological age, serum levels of growth hormone (hGH), and parathormone (PTH). Growth performance was evaluated twice: at the start of the study and one year later. Children with CRF and transplantation had significantly higher levels of both serum hGH and PTH compared to their controls, while CRF children experienced significantly higher serum levels of both hGH and PTH compared to those with functioning graft. Furthermore, analysis of our results by non-parametric Kendall's correlation at the start and one year later revealed negative correlation concerning dialysis duration, serum creatinine, and PTH. On the other hand, positive correlation was achieved for serum calcium and GFR.