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. 2019 Oct 21;45(1):130.
doi: 10.1186/s13052-019-0715-x.

Practical tools to identify short children born small-for-gestational-age eligible for rhGH treatment according to Italian regulation

Gianluca Tornese  1 , Flavia Pricci  2 , Maria Chiara Pellegrin  3 , Marika Villa  2 , Daniela Rotondi  2 , Elvira Agazio  2 , Egidio Barbi  3   4
Affiliations

Practical tools to identify short children born small-for-gestational-age eligible for rhGH treatment according to Italian regulation

Gianluca Tornese et al. Ital J Pediatr. .

Abstract

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is an approved and effective treatment for short children born small for gestational age (SGA). Prevalence of children eligible for treatment as SGA is reported to be 1:1800. The latest data from the National Registry of Growth Hormone therapy (RNAOC) showed that the number of children treated with SGA indication is still small (prevalence 0.37/100,000) and these children are significantly less reported than those treated for growth hormone deficiency (GHD), although GHD prevalence is 1:4000-1:10,000. This means that many short children born SGA are still not properly identified, and therefore not treated with rhGH, or misdiagnosed as GHD. This article provides some practical tools for the identification of children eligible for rhGH treatment.

Keywords: Growth hormone; Italy; Small for gestational age.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart to verify the eligibility of a child born SGA for rhGH treatment7
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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