Cystic fibrosis usually is diagnosed in early childhood, and recent developments in screening can detect the disease shortly after birth. It afflicts about 30,000 children and adults in the United States. In the 1950s, few children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school, but advances in treatment have improved the median age of survival to 37 years old.

Human growth hormone is commonly used to treat several conditions, including growth hormone deficiency, chronic kidney failure and small size in children. Human growth hormone therapy requires that patients inject the medication every day for several months.

Effectiveness of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH) in the Treatment of Patients with Cystic Fibrosis is the newest comparative effectiveness review from AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program. The Effective Health Care Program represents a leading federal effort to compare alternative treatments for health conditions and make the findings public to help doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others work together with patients to choose the most effective treatments.

In conjunction with the new report, AHRQ will soon publish plain-language summary guides about human growth hormone in cystic fibrosis for patients, clinicians and policymakers. Summary guides on numerous clinical topics and other information and background on the Effective Health Care Program can be found at www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.

SOURCE Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality