Treatment of venous ulcers with growth factors: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To identify evidence about the effects of growth factor application on venous ulcer healing. Method: Systematic review and meta-analysis, including Randomized Clinical Trials. Searches: Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, LILACS, Web of Science, Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations; Google Scholar and list of references. Results: 802 participants were recruited from the 10 included studies: 472 in the intervention group (growth factors) and 330 as control. The relative risk for the complete healing outcome was 1.06 [95% CI 0.92-1.22], p = 0.41. Participants who received Platelet-Rich Plasma and Epidermal Growth Factor showed a slight tendency to achieve complete healing, but without statistical relevance (p < 0.05). Most of the studies were classified as moderate risk of bias. Conclusion: The effect of the application of growth factors for complete healing in venous ulcers is not clear, and clinical trials with methodological quality are required for more accurate recommendations.