The effect of short-term growth horm one treatment in children with burn

Objective To investigate t he effect of short-term growth hormone(GH)on preventing the burn-induced gro w th delay.Methods The burned children who received GH d uring hospitalization were growth g roup.Other burned children without GH were control group.Heigh ts(velocities)were measured and were compared.At t he same time,heights were compared t o standard height of unburned children.Results No differences in av erage height cou ld be shown between growth and contro l group at admission and 6months afte r burn.There was,however,a significant di fference(P0.05 )in height during the first 2years aft er burn between growth and control grou p.Conclusion Growth hormone,given during acute h ospitalization,maintained gr owth in severely burned children who woul d otherwise experi-ence a significant growth delay.