Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
60th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), Rome, İtalya, 15 - 17 Eylül 2022, ss.263
Introduction: Treatment adherence is crucial for the success of
Growth Hormone (GH) therapy. Non-adherence rates have varied
over a wide range from 5% to 80% in the literature. Several factors
may have an impact on treatment adherence. Besides, with the
COVID-19 pandemic that affected the whole world, there were
problems with the hospital admission and routine controls of the
patients who used GH treatment.
Objective: The survey’s primary objective is to investigate
adherence to treatment in patients with GH. The survey will also
investigate potential problems in GH treatment during the
pandemic.
Materials and Methods: The survey was sent to pediatric endocrinologists.
Patient data, diagnosis, history of pituitary surgery,
current GH doses, duration of GH therapy, who administers the
therapy (mother and father, patient), duration of missed doses,
reasons for missed doses as well as problems associated with GH
therapy, and missed dose data in the recent year (after the onset of
the pandemic) and causes were asked. The treatment adherence
category was determined based on missed dose rates over the past
month (0 to 5%, full adherence; 5.1 to 10% moderate adherence;
>10% non-adherence).
Results: 427 cases from thirteen centers were evaluated. The
median age of diagnosis of the cases (56.2% male) was 8.5 (0.13-16)
years. GH treatment indications were isolated GH deficiency
(61.4%), multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (14%), Turner
syndrome (7.5%), idiopathic GH deficiency (7.5%), and SGA
(2.8%), and other (6.8%). GH therapy was administered by 70%
parents and 30% patients. Mean daily dose was 32.3 mcg/kg, the
annual growth rate was 7.52Å}2.7 cm. GH adherence rate was good
(70.3%), moderate (14.7%), and poor (15%), respectively. The reasons
for non-adherence were mainly due to forgetting, being tired,
inability to access medication, and pen problems. It was noteworthy
that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on adherence
in 22%. The problem with an appointment, taking the
medication, and anxiety about going to the hospital were the main
reasons. There was no difference between genders in the adherence
rate. Non-adherence to GH treatment decreased statistically when
the patient administered the treatment, increased age, the duration
of the treatment, and COVID-19 pandemia. A non-statistical
decrease was found in the annual growth rate as the skip rate
increased.
Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, poor adherence
was found to be 15%, and the duration of hormone use and
advanced age are important factors. The pandemic period negatively
affected compliance.