Design of, and first data from, PATRO Children, a multicentre, noninterventional study of the long-term efficacy and safety of Omnitrope(®) in children requiring growth hormone treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the rationale, design and first data from PATRO Children, a postmarketing surveillance of the long-term efficacy and safety of somatropin (Omnitrope(®)) for the treatment of children requiring growth hormone treatment.
METHODS: PATRO Children is a multicentre, open, longitudinal, noninterventional study being conducted in children's hospitals and specialised endocrinology clinics. The primary objective is to assess the long-term safety of Omnitrope(®) in routine clinical practice. Eligible patients are infants, children and adolescents (male or female) who are receiving treatment with Omnitrope(®) and who have provided informed consent. Patients who have been treated with another recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) product before starting Omnitrope(®) are eligible for inclusion. All adverse events (AEs) are monitored and recorded, with particular emphasis on: long-term safety; the recording of malignancies; the occurrence and clinical impact of anti-hGH antibodies; the development of diabetes during Omnitrope(®) treatment in children short for gestational age (SGA); safety issues in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Efficacy assessments include auxological parameters, plus insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3.
RESULTS: As of September 2012, 1837 patients were enrolled in the study from 184 sites in 10 European countries. To date, efficacy data are reassuring and consistent with previous studies. In addition, there have been no confirmed cases of diabetes occurring under Omnitrope(®) treatment, no reports of malignancy and no safety issues in PWS patients.
CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy and safety profile of Omnitrope(®) in the PATRO Children study so far are as expected. The ongoing study will extend the safety database for Omnitrope(®), and rhGH products more generally, in paediatric indications. Of particular interest, PATRO Children will add important information on the diabetogenic potential of rhGH in children born SGA, the risk of malignancies in children receiving rhGH, and AEs with a possible causal relationship to rhGH treatment in children with PWS.