Table 8.
The Effect of Growth Hormone Therapy on Executive Function of Patients after Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
| Author | Design | Severity | No. of patients with treatment | No. of patients without treatment | Treatment beginning and length (months) | COWA | Semantic and phonemic fluency | GOAT | WCST | p value in the treated group from baseline | p value between treated and untreated groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High et al.30 | RCT | Moderate-to-severe. GCS: 5.8 (SD: 3.4) | 12 | 11 | Chronic, 12 | X | X | <0.05 | n.s. | ||
| Dubiel et al.29 | RCT | All severities GOSE score: 3-17 |
16 | 18 | Acute, 6 | X | X | n.s. | |||
| Moreau et al.33 | Cohort study | All severities GCS: 8.1 (SD: 5.1) | 23 | 27 | Chronic, 12 | X | >0.05 | >0.05 | |||
| Maric et al.38 | Case series | Moderate-to-severe. GCS: 8-10 | 4 | 2 | Chronic, 6 | X | Improvement |
Executive function was assessed by the Controlled Oral Word Association test (COWA), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Galveston Orientation Assessment Test (GOAT). Acute treatment was started within 1 month after TBI. Statistical significance is indicated at p < 0.05.
RCT, randomized controlled trial; n.s., non-significant; GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale; SD, standard deviation; GOSE: Glasgow Outcome Score-Extended.