Indicated for the treatment of children with growth hormone deficiency and women with Turner syndrome (short stature), Somatropin is a free medicine, available by the Ministry of Health for patients treated by the Unified Health System (SUS) in the country. The introduction of the drug began in 2020, after a partnership between the Federal Government and the private national laboratory Fiocruz Bio-Manguinhos.
In Tocantins, the Pharmaceutical Assistance Board of the State Health Department (DAF/SES-TO) distributes the expensive medicine (DAF/SES-TO). “The drug Somatropin 12 IU is part of group 1 Pharmaceutical Assistance and is responsible for the production and distribution to the Union itself. So that our patients can help us, we request new shipments every three months and the Ministry sends medicines intended for patients who registered in the network during this period”, said the Director of Pharmaceutical Assistance in SES-TO, Kédma Maria Carneiro adding that “now there are 152 patients registered to receive these medicines in Tocantins”.
To help patients in Tocantins, the Ministry of Health sent more than eight thousand bottles of medicine last week. The withdrawal request process must be carried out by the patient or his guardian at the Regional Pharmaceutical Assistance Center of Palmas, Araguaína, Porto Nacional and Gurupi, with the recommendation of a doctor specialized in endocrinology, prescription and personal documentation. “Patients who wish to order 12 IU and 4 IU of somatropin from the public network are available for children with growth hormone deficiency and women with Turner syndrome. Each family withdraws the amount necessary to use during the month and with each new withdrawal, a prescription is required for control”, added Kédma Carneiro.
Recommendation
The use of growth hormone is indicated to help children and women gain more centimeters in height, and should be used only when the patient has a deficiency in hormone production. “Regarding the improvements, the main effect that the medicine brings is in relation to the improvement of the speed of the rhythm of growth, giving this child or teenager an opportunity to have a height of the possibilities of growth, improving in other regions as well, such as hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar”, commented pediatric endocrinologist Natalia Cinquini.
The treatment is done with the application, every night before you go to sleep, of a small dose of the hormone with a needle similar to those used in the treatment of diabetes. The medicine is indicated for three or four years, on average, and it can reach eight or nine years of treatment, until the closure of the growth. “And the tests prove the deficiency of the growth hormone, the medicine works by improving the levels and strengthening the genetic growth, making the lives of the patients better”, added Natalia Cinquini.
Information
For more information on access to medicine, the population can call the DAF/SES-TO channel, at the following telephone numbers: (63) 3218 3200 – Palmas;
(63) 3411-2971 – Araguaína is
(63) 3351 1460 – Gurupi.