Multicentre survey on compliance with growth hormone therapy: what can be improved?

A survey was undertaken to evaluate compliance in Spanish patients receiving growth hormone treatment. The 28-item structured questionnaire was designed to collect data on compliance, treatment schedule, device used and instruction received. In total, 473 questionnaires were completed in 17 paediatric endocrine units. Compliance was divided into four categories based on percentage of doses omitted, classified as excellent if 0%, good <5%, fair 5-10% and poor >10%. The level of compliance was excellent in 74.0%, good in 20.1%, fair in 3.4% and poor in 2.5%. Compliance was better in those who injected themselves (p < 0.01), were trained by hospital staff (p < 0.01) and used automatic pens (p < 0.05). Patients using conventional syringes were less likely to comply (p < 0.05). More information on growth hormone treatment was requested by 57.6% of patients. The results indicate that the specialist nurse should spend sufficient time with the patients and relatives to ensure a higher compliance rate.