Efficacy and safety of basic fibroblast growth factor in the treatment of burns: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the treatment of burns and to provide evidence-based medical information for clinicians to choose the appropriate treatment measures for burns. METHODS: Seven databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, the Wanfang Database, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Internet, and the Chongqing Chongqing Weipu Chinese Science and Technology Journal Full-text Database (VIP), were searched by computer. Randomized controlled trials on bFGF in the treatment of burns were collected, and the search was conducted by using a combination of subject terms (MeSH) and free words. The search time limit was from the establishment of each database until January 2019. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted the data. According to the evaluation criteria recommended in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 5.3.0, they conducted a rigorous bias risk assessment for the included studies, and Stata 12.0 software was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: System evaluation and meta-analysis were carried out strictly in accordance with the requirements of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 5.3.0 on meta-analysis and provided a high-quality evaluation of the efficacy and safety of bFGF in the treatment of burns. CONCLUSION: This study provided conclusions from evidence-based medicine and a scientific basis for the efficacy and safety of bFGF in the clinical treatment of burns. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was not a clinical trial and therefore did not require ethical approval. The results of this study will be published in an SCI academic journal related to this study in the form of a public publication. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019124778.