Effects of cyproheptadine on body weight gain in children with nonorganic failure to thrive in Taiwan: A hospital-based retrospective study

Yi Chun Lin, Hung Rong Yen, Fuu Jen Tsai, Chung Hsing Wang, Lung Chang Chien, An Chyi Chen, Ro Ting Lin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Failure to thrive (FTT) impairs the expected normal physical growth of children. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of cyproheptadine hydrochloride on growth parameters in prepubertal children with FTT. The medical records of prepubertal children who were newly diagnosed with FTT at China Medical University Hospital between 2007 and 2016 were retrospectively examined. The patients were divided into two groups depending on whether they had (T-group) or had not (NT-group) received cyproheptadine hydrochloride (0.3 mg/kg daily) for at least 14 days. The mean length of the treatment period was 97.22 days (range: 14-532 days). Weight, height, and body mass index were adjusted for age using the median values in the growth charts for Taiwanese boys and girls as the reference. A total of 788 patients aged 3-11 years were enrolled, 50 in the T-group and 738 in the NT-group. No statistically significant difference in the median age-adjusted weight value was noted between the T-group and NT-group during the follow up period. In the T-group, age-adjusted weight and body mass index were inversely associated with age (P <0.001, P <0.001) and positively associated with medication duration (P = 0.026, P = 0.04). Our findings underscore the positive association between cyproheptadine hydrochloride treatment and weight gain among prepubertal children. Further prospective clinical studies with a. longer and consistent treatment course is warranted.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0258731
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume16
Issue numberOctober
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2021 Lin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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