Clinicians’ Feedback on Patient/Carer Experience After Switching of Growth Hormone Treatment in Pediatric Patients During COVID-19

PURPOSE: This study investigated why some clinicians switched growth hormone (GH) brands in pediatric patients with GH-related disorders to Norditropin(®) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinicians’ perceptions of the results, and whether observations from this period of disruption could inform clinical practice in the future. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinicians (N=106) from the UK, France, Italy, and Japan who had switched at least one patient to Norditropin(®) from a GH therapy manufactured by a different pharmaceutical company between February and November 2020 participated. They completed an online survey and submitted patient report forms for up to three switched patients. RESULTS: Since the start of COVID-19, 39–54% of the reported consultations were virtual (ie, via telephone or online means) in the UK, France, and Italy. Overall, 17% of patients seen by respondents in the survey were switched to a different GH brand; approximately two-thirds of switches were to Norditropin(®). Clinicians’ top considerations in choosing a GH brand were patient/carer feedback, patient support programs, and the need for easy-to-use therapies in the context of virtual consultations. The top reasons for switching patients to Norditropin(®) included ease of use, device features and benefits, better patient/carer feedback, and ease of training in device use via virtual consultations. Norditropin(®) was considered suitable for use in virtual or in-person consultations or a mixture of both. Based on patient/carer feedback, 66% of clinicians believed that patients preferred Norditropin(®) to their previous therapy in terms of overall satisfaction. CONCLUSION: In this survey, key considerations in prescribing GH therapy were ease of use and acceptability to patients and carers. If virtual consultations increasingly replace in-person ones, ease in training patients/carers in device use will be particularly important. A majority of clinicians considered that their patients preferred Norditropin(®) to their previous therapy.