Chronic kidney disease and growth failure: Efficacy of growth hormone treatment

Growth failure is a frequent complication observed in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and correlated to increased morbidity and mortality. To achieve a normal growth in children with CKD remains challenging for pediatric nephrologists. Growth failure in the setting of pediatric CKD is multifactorial and related to an impaired sensitivity to growth hormone and to a deficiency of IGF1 (insulin-like growth factor 1).Growth failure management has improved during the last two decades and consists of correcting any nutritional and metabolic abnormalities, of an improvement of dialysis for children on end-stage renal disease, and of an administration of a supraphysiologic dose of recombinant growth hormone to overcome GH insensitivity.This article summarizes the causes, outcomes and assessment tools of growth in children with CKD as well as the management of recombinant growth hormone.