Recombinant human growth hormone increases thyroid hormone-binding sites in recovering severely burned children

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Thyroxine (T4), Tri-iodothyronine (T3), and total serum protein levels are reduced in severely burned children. T4 and T3 are carried on serum transport proteins via thyroid hormone-binding sites (THBS). Treatment of bums with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) increases albumin (Alb) and prealbumin (PreAlb), which bind nearly 30% of circulating T4 and T3. This study investigated the effect of rhGH on THBS sites in burned children. Records of 11 acutely burned children with a total body surface area burned >40% who were randomized to either a daily subcutaneous injection of rhGH at 0.05 mg/kg/day or placebo for 6 months after discharge from hospital were reviewed. Thyroxine uptake percentage (TU%), Total T4 levels (TT4), free thyroxine index, Alb and PreAlb, and height and weight measurements taken at discharge and 6 months later were compared in both groups. In the six children who received rhGH, mean TU% had decreased from 41 +/- 1 to 33 +/- 1% by 6 months postdischarge, (P

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