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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Pediatric Endocrinology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1450573

Use of connected injection device has a positive effect on catch-up growth in patients with growth disorders treated with growth hormone therapy

Provisionally accepted
Antonio de Arriba Antonio de Arriba 1Paula van Dommelen Paula van Dommelen 2*Martin O. Savage Martin O. Savage 3
  • 1 Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain
  • 2 Department of Child Health, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Leiden, Netherlands
  • 3 Centre for Endocrinology, William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Human growth hormone (hGH) therapy in children can be administered by subcutaneous injection using either a manual non-connected device, which is a portable injection pen loaded with a pre-filled cartridge, or an electronic connected device. The electronic device is connected to a platform where adherence data is recorded and available for health care professionals (HCPs) and patient support programs. Real-world data used in the clinic, includes regular monitoring of adherence data which are shared with families during patients' visits and aim to determine the root causes of poor adherence. This study aimed to identify whether there are differences in growth during the first four years of treatment depending on the device, i.e. non-connected versus connected devices. This retrospective study reports treatment of either GH deficiency or short stature secondary to birth size small for gestational age (SGA) in 174 pediatric patients attending Miguel Servet Hospital, Zaragoza, Spain. hGH treatment was administered with manual non-connected devices in 87 patients and 87 patients used connected devices. Height was followed for 4 years after start of hGH therapy. In total, 57% of subjects had GHD and 43% were SGA. Height standard deviation score (HSDS) at treatment start was higher (p<0.001) in the non-connected device group compared to the connected device group. Change of HSDS in the connected device group was significantly higher in the second (+0.13), third (+0.20) and fourth (+0.23) year of treatment compared to the non-connected group after adjustment for age and HSDS at treatment start, sex, indication, dose and Tanner stages during treatment, and timing of measurements. In conclusion, these results support the use of the connected device for hGH treatment of pediatric growth disorders.

    Keywords: Growth Hormone, adherence, growth response, Height gain, Digital tool

    Received: 17 Jun 2024; Accepted: 24 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 de Arriba, van Dommelen and Savage. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Paula van Dommelen, Department of Child Health, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Leiden, Netherlands

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.