Altered nutrition state in the severe multiple trauma patients undergoing adjuvant recombinant human growth hormone nutritional support therapy

Abstract

In order to observe the nutrition state in the severe multiple trauma patients undergoing adjuvant recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) nutritional support therapy, 45 patients with severe multiple traumas (ISS>25) were randomly divided into 3 groups. All the 3 groups had been supplied with nitrogen and caloricity according to the need of patients for 16 days. The rhGH therapy started 48 h after surgery and lasted for 14 days in two rhGH-treated groups in which rhGH was 0.2 and 0.4 U/(kg . d) respectively, and the resting group served as control one. The levels of nitrogen balance, prealbumin and safety variables (blood sugar, Na+, TT3 and TT4) were observed and compared among the three groups. The levels of nitrogen balance on the postoperative day (POD) 3 and 5 in the rhGH-treated groups were -1.28+/-3.19, 5.45+/-2.00 and -0.18+/-2.55, 6.11+/-1.60, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (-5.17+/-1.68 and -1.08+/-3.31, P<0.01). The values of prealbumin on the POD 3 and 5 in the rhGH-treated groups were 180.19+/-27.15, 194.44+/-50.82 and 194.94+/-29.65, 194.11+/-16.17, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (117.42+/-19.10 and 135.63+/-28.31, P<0.01). There was no significant difference between the rhGH 0.2 U/(kg . d) group and rhGH 0.4 U/(kg . d) group in both of the levels of nitrogen balance and prealbumin. It is concluded that the nutritional support therapy with adjuvant rhGH which starts 48 h after surgery improves the nutrition state of the patients with severe multiple trauma. It is safe for severe multiple trauma patients who accept rhGH at the dose of 0.2 and 0.4 U/(kg . d).