Study type: Human research · Status: Verified against declared source

Effects of cerebrolysin on functional outcome of patients with traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2018

Study scale: Five articles (5,685 participants) were included in the current meta-analysis.

Product or molecular entity relationships

Cerebrolysin: Exact entity relationship. Legacy citation custody associates this source with the catalog record; no product-relevance conclusion is implied.

Plain-language verified summary

Question

The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of cerebrolysin on functional outcome in patients with moderate and severe TBI.

Methods

All the relevant studies with randomized clinical trial and cohort design evaluating the effects of intravenous cerebrolysin vs placebo on functional outcome of patients with TBI within the English literature up to October 2018 were included.

Scale or participants

Five articles (5,685 participants) were included in the current meta-analysis.

Key findings

The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of cerebrolysin on functional outcome in patients with moderate and severe TBI.

Limitations and uncertainty

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is among the most common public health problems in both developed and developing countries being associated with high mortality and morbidity and heavy disease burden in all age groups.1,2 According to Center for Disease Control, TBI has been responsible for ~2.5 million emergency department visits, ~282,000 TBI-related hospitalizations, and ~56,000 TBI-related deaths.3 The incidence rate is as high as 1.9% in developed countries while it is even higher in developing countries with a TBI-associated mortality rate of 37.7–48.4 per 100,000 populations.4–6 The direct and indirect economic burden of the TBI is also a major and growing problem for the policy makers and stockholders with an estimated 4.4 trillion USD in gross domestic product losses during 2015–2030 in developing countries.7 The current treatment and management of TBI mainly focus on prevention of secondary brain injuries defined as ischemia, infarction, infection, and hydrocephalus along with rehabilitation, cognitive, and physical therapies.8,9 Several surgical and medical interventions have been introduced and clinically experienced in patients with TBI with various results; however, none of them have achieved favorable functional outcome and recovery.10–14 The research in the field is ongoing with introductions and establishment of new methods and techniques to improve the functional outcome of patients with TBI.

Verified against declared source. Verification is limited to the declared source and review scope. It does not mean independent replication or establish efficacy, safety, or suitability.