The Efficacy of GnRHa Alone or in Combination with rhGH for the Treatment of Chinese Children with Central Precocious Puberty

The addition of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) to GnRH agonist (GnRHa) to treat central precocious puberty (CPP) is controversial. We systemically reviewed and evaluated the efficacy and safety of the rhGH and GnRHa adjunctive therapy in Chinese children with CPP and assessed the influence of age and therapy duration on the efficacy of the combined treatment. A total of 464 patients were included from 14 studies. Compared with baseline, administration of GnRHa plus rhGH led to a significant increase in height, predicted adult height (PAH) and height standard deviation for bone age (HtSDS-BA), corresponding to a weighted mean difference (WMD) (95% CI) of 9.06 cm (6.41, 11.70), 6.5 cm (4.47, 8.52), and 0.86 (0.58, 1.14) respectively. Subgroup analysis showed the combined therapy had increased efficacy in subjects with initial treatment age younger than 10 years old or with treatment lasting over 12 months. Compared with GnRHa alone treatment, the combined treatment led to a significant increase in height, PAH and HtSDS-BA, corresponding to a WMD (95% CI) of 3.56 cm (2.54, 4.57), 3.76 cm (3.19, 4.34) and 0.56 (0.43, 0.69). The combined treatment exhibited no safety concerns. Our findings may aid clinicians in making treatment decisions for children with CPP.