External application of moisture exposed burn ointment for phlebitis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of moisture exposed burn ointment (MEBO) on phlebitis, seven electronic databases where checked until September, 2016 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of MEBO on phlebitis. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane handbook guidelines. Thirty eight randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria in which the aggregated results indicated that comparison revealed significant differences in total effectiveness rate of MEBO versus conventional therapy (RR=1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.06, 1.52, and P=0.009), and there were some beneficial evidence regarding the effects on reducing incidence of phlebitis MEBO versus conventional therapy in preventing phlebitis (RR=2.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.94, 3.85, and P<0.00001). The evidence that MEBO is an effective treatment for phlebitis is encouraging, but not conclusive due to the low methodological quality of the RCTs. Therefore, more high-quality RCTs with larger sample sizes are required.   Key words: External application of moisture exposed burn ointment, prevention and (or) treatment, phlebitis.