Somatropin

The recommended dose of Somatropin Injection should be administered subcutaneously.

• Pediatric GHD: The recommended dose is 0.024 to 0.034 mg/kg/day, 6 to 7 times a week.
• Noonan Syndrome: The recommended dose is up to 0.066 mg/kg/day.
• Turner Syndrome: The recommended dose is up to 0.067 mg/kg/day.
• SGA: The recommended dose is up to 0.067 mg/kg/day.
• Adult GHD: The recommended dose is 0.004 mg/kg/day to be increased as tolerated to not more than 0.016 mg/kg/day after around 6 weeks, or a starting dose of around 0.2 mg/day (range, 0.15-0.30 mg/day) increased gradually every 30-60 days by increments of round 0.1 to 0.2 mg daily. Injection sites should always be rotated to avoid lipoatrophy.

The most commonly reported side effects due to Somatropin hgh include: headaches, injection site reactions/rashes and lipoatrophy.

• There have been reports of fatalities after starting somatropin therapy in pediatric patients with Prader-Willi syndrome who had one or more of the following risk factors: severe obesity, history of sleep apnea or upper airway obstruction, or unidentified respiratory infection.
• Patients with Prader-Willi syndrome should be assessed for signs of upper airway obstruction and sleep apnea prior to initiation of treatment with somatropin recombinant growth hormone.
• Patients with Prader-Willi syndrome treated with somatropin medication should also have effective weight control and be assessed for signs/symptoms of respiratory infection, which should be diagnosed as early as possible and treated aggressively.
• Monitor patients with a history of GHD secondary to an intracranial neoplasm routinely while taking treatment with hormone somatropin for progression or recurrence of the tumor.
• In case somatropin treatment is initiated, patients should be carefully evaluated for development of neoplasms. Assess patients carefully for increased growth, or potential malignant changes, of pre existing nevi.
  Patients with preexisting type-1/2 diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance should be assessed precisely while on somatropin therapy. The doses of antihyperglycemic drugs may require adjustment when somatropin treatment is instituted in these patients.
• Funduscopic examination needs to be performed routinely prior to initiating somatropin hgh to exclude preexisting papilledema, and periodically during somatropin therapy. In case papilledema is observed by funduscopy during treatment, treatment needs to be stopped.
• In patients with multiple hormone deficiencies, standard hormonal replacement therapy needs to be monitored precisely when this medication is administered.
• Patients with Turner syndrome need to be assessed carefully for otitis media and other ear disorders since these patients have a greater risk of ear and hearing disorders. The somatropin use may be responsible for increasing the occurrence of otitis media in patients with Turner syndrome.
• When somatropin medicine is administered subcutaneously at the same site over a long period of time, tissue atrophy may result. This may be avoided by rotating the site of injection.

The unused somatropin injection must be stored at 2°C to 8°C/36°F to 46°F (refrigerator). Do not freeze. Avoid direct light. After the initial injection, a Somatropin FlexPro prefilled pen may be either stored in the refrigerator (2°C to 8°C/36°F to 46°F) and used within 4 weeks or stored for up to 3 weeks at room temperature not more than 25°C (77°F). Discard any unused portions.