Effects of uremia on growth in children

Abstract

Growth failure is a major complication of uremia in infancy and childhood. The influence of the primary renal disease leading to uremic growth retardation in children, the contributing factors leading to growth failure, such as metabolic acidosis, renal osteodystrophy, hyperparathyroidism, nutrition-endocrine and developmental disorders, are reviewed to update nephrologists on the complex issue of growth failure in children with uremia. The collaboration between endocrinologists and nephrologists in treating children with growth retardation is highlighted by a recently completed National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical trial on renal osteodystrophy plus the use of recombinant human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor. Finally, this article concludes with a brief summary of an approach to reverse the effects of uremia on growth, including conservative nutritional management, treatment of anemia with erythropoietin, and selected aspects of growth and development after renal transplantation.