ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1621206
The effects of Beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl butyrate supplementation in surgical patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Provisionally accepted
- Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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Background: Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a nutritional supplement that has demonstrated favorable effects on restoring muscle mass. However, evidence to support its use in patients underlying surgery remains unclear. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of HMB in this population to ascertain its effect.We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on surgical patients receiving HMB compared to controls. The last search was March 15, 2025. Length of stay (LOS) and postoperative complications were the primary outcomes. We assessed study quality and performed subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and the GRADE system to explore potential heterogeneity.postoperative complications, as well as some outcomes of muscle measurements and physical function . However, due to the significantly heterogeneity among the included studies, more well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm our findings.
Keywords: beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl butyrate, Surgery, muscle mass, complication, Meta-analysis
Received: 30 Apr 2025; Accepted: 02 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Shi, Yu and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hui-Bin Huang, Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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