Current Indications for Growth Hormone Therapy

Breaking new ground in terms of scientific analysis, this book addresses the question of who benefits most from treatment with recombinant human growth hormone. Outlined at the beginning of this book are the principles of evidence-based medicine along with a critical appraisal of the statistical issues that lie at the center of growth hormone trials. Each chapter reviews the current state of knowledge on the use of growth hormone in conditions ranging from Turner syndrome through other syndromes of intrauterine growth retardation to the short normal child, also highlighting issues that remain to be addressed in further research. Evaluating therapies in terms of efficacy and safety or the health benefit for the individual or society as a whole are rarely approached in pediatric endocrinology and for this reason a special chapter on health economic evaluation is included. This book is of interest and offers practical help to pediatricians and endocrinologists.