Objective To assess the effectiveness and the safety of clinical use of growth hormone (GH) in burn patients. Method Search were applied to the following electronic databases: Chinese Bio-medicine Database (CBM), MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. Language was restricted in Chinese and English. Data were extracted and evaluated by the two reviewers independently of each other. Applied RevMan 4.1 for statistical analyse. Results Nine trials involving 732 patients were included. The combined results showed that GH can shorten wound healing time [weighted mean difference (WMD) = -11.25, 95%CI (-14.84 to -7.66), Plt;0.000 01], donor site healing times [WMD= -1.87, 95%CI (-2.28 to -1.47), P＜0.000 01), and length of hospital stay [WMD= -8.10, 95%CI (-10.40 to -5.79), P＜0.000 01]. There was no statistical significance on resting energy expenditure [WMD= -0.04, 95%CI ( -0.08 to 0.00), P=0.06], mortality [odds ratio (OR) =1.15, 95%CI (0.15 to 8.53), P=0.9], sepsis [OR=1.08, 95%CI (0.50 to 2.34), P=0.8] and ventilatory support required [OR=1.51, 95%CI (0.72 to 3.16), P=0.3]. Nevertheless, the plasma levels of glucose [standardized mean difference (SMD) =0.98, 95%CI (0.54 to1.42), P＜0.000 01] and insulin [SMD=0.86, 95%CI (0.43 to1.30), P=0.000 1] were increased in GH groups. Conclusions GH for burn patients is effective and safe if blood glucose can be controlled well.
