April - June 2025, Volume 21, Issue 2

Ji X, Shen L, Lin Z, Lv R

Comparative Growth Outcomes of Long-Acting and Short-Acting Growth Hormone Therapy in Pediatric Patients: A 12-Month Retrospective Analysis

Acta Endo (Buc) 2025, 21 (2): 219-226
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2025.219

Background. Growth hormone (GH) therapy is widely used for pediatric growth disorders, with short-acting (Saizen) and long-acting (Jintropin) formulations available. This study assesses height, weight, and bone age outcomes in children treated with Jintropin, Saizen, or a combination of both. Methods. This retrospective cohort study (N=108) compared Jintropin (n=31), Saizen (n=50), and Combination Therapy (n=27). To control for baseline heterogeneity (age, puberty) and repeated measures, analyses used ANCOVA and LMM. Post-hoc comparisons used Bonferroni correction. Safety was evaluated by ΔBA/ΔCA ratio. Results. Following multivariable LMM adjustment, the estimated marginal means for annualized GV were 9.30 cm/year (95% CI: 8.46–10.15) for Jintropin, 8.55 cm/year (95% CI: 7.90–9.20) for Saizen, and 9.56 cm/year (95% CI: 8.77–10.34) for Combination Therapy. Adjusted pairwise comparisons showed no significant efficacy differences between groups (Jintropin vs. Saizen: p=0.501; Combination vs. Saizen: p=0.160). Skeletal safety was confirmed across cohorts (ΔBA/ΔCA: 0.34, 0.46, 0.68), indicating no premature epiphyseal fusion. Conclusion. Long-acting Jintropin monotherapy provides growth outcomes comparable and non-inferior to daily Saizen, offering a convenient, effective alternative that reduces injection burden. The non-standard combination of long- and short-acting GH showed no statistically superior benefits, suggesting such complex regimens are unnecessary in clinical practice.

Keywords: Growth hormone therapy, Jintropin, Saizen, height growth, BMI, bone age progression, recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH).

Correspondence: Xianli Ji MD, Department of Pediatrics, Yongkang First People's Hospital, No. 599, Jinshan West Road, Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province, Postcode: 321300, Yongkang, China, E-mail: xianlijiaabb@yeah.net