Increases in hemoglobin concentration and iron needs in response to growth hormone treatment.

We studied 36 children with short stature during the initial 6 months of recombinant human growth hormone treatment and found an elevation in the mean concentration of hemoglobin (p < 0.001). The elevation was highest in the eight patients with bone dysplasia (p < 0.001). The mean concentration of serum ferritin decreased (p < 0.01) and that of serum transferrin increased (p < 0.001). The prevalence of iron deficiency increased from 6 patients (17%) with initial deficiency to 20 (56%) patients after therapy, indicating that iron supplementation should be considered in children treated with recombinant human growth hormone.