Short stature and growth hormone use in pediatric hemodialysis patients

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) causes growth retardation in children, and poor growth has been linked to worse outcomes. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) can increase growth velocity and final adult height in pediatric ESRD patients. We aimed to identify clinical predictors of short stature (height standard deviation score (Ht SDS) <−1.88) and rhGH use in short stature pediatric hemodialysis patients. In 2002, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Clinical Performances Measures (CPM) ESRD Project collected demographic, clinical and laboratory data as well as rhGH use on all in-center hemodialysis patients in the US aged <18 years. The odds ratios (OR) of short stature and rhGH use for individual predictors were determined by multivariate logistic regression modeling. Six-hundred and fifty-one (92%) of 710 eligible patients were included for analysis. Of these, 266 (41%) had Ht SDS <−1.88. After adjustment, short stature was predicted by congenital / urologic causes of ESRD ((OR 5.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1–13.8; p <0.001) in patients aged 10–14 years; (OR 2.8; 95% CI, 1.5–5.4; p <0.01) in patients aged 15–18 years) and increasing years on dialysis ((OR 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1–1.4; p <0.01) in patients aged 10–14 years; (OR 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1–1.4; p <0.001) in patients aged 15–18 years). Of 266 short stature patients, 214 (80.5%) had data on rhGH use. Of these, 80 (37%) had been prescribed rhGH. After adjustment, use of rhGH in short-stature patients was predicted by white race (OR 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1–4.0; p <0.05), increasing years on dialysis (OR 1.13; 95% CI, 1.05–1.22; p <0.01) and patients with BMI <16.6 kg/m2 (OR 3.1; 95% CI, 1.2–8.4; p <0.05). Increasing age and level of intact parathyroid hormone were not associated with rhGH use among short stature patients. A significant proportion of pediatric hemodialysis patients have short stature. The majority of short-stature patients are not receiving rhGH. Patients with short stature who are white, have longer durations on dialysis and have lower BMI are more likely to receive rhGH.