Peer-reviewed article

Transition to once-weekly growth hormone in paediatric isolated growth hormone deficiency: a real-world experience.

Georgia Sotiriou, Maria Moutafi, Panagiota Triantafyllou, Maria Papagianni, Athanasios Christoforidis · 5 Oct 2026

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate real-world auxological and biochemical outcomes in children and adolescents with isolated growth hormone deficiency (GHD) who transitioned from daily recombinant human growth hormone to once-weekly somatrogon. DESIGN: Single-centre retrospective observational study. METHODS: Seventy-three paediatric patients with isolated GHD (52 boys) transitioned to weekly somatrogon at a mean age of 12.56 ± 2.87 years. At the time of data collection, all 73 patients had completed 6 months of follow-up, while 58 and 27 patients had completed 12 and 18 months, respectively. Primary outcomes were changes in height standard deviation score (SDS) and height velocity SDS. Secondary outcomes included body mass index (BMI) SDS, weight SDS, and serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) SDS. Assessments were performed 6 months prior to transition and at 6, 12, and 18 months after initiation of long-acting growth hormone therapy. RESULTS: Height SDS increased, while height velocity SDS remained positive throughout follow-up. BMI SDS increased significantly during the first year after transition but stabilized by 18 months. Serum IGF-1 SDS showed an early increase at 6 months, followed by a decline. CONCLUSIONS: Transition from daily growth hormone to once-weekly somatrogon maintained effective growth outcomes in paediatric patients with isolated GHD. These findings support the effectiveness of weekly therapy in routine clinical practice. Further long-term studies are needed to better characterize metabolic effects and inform individualized treatment strategies.