For severely burned adults, propranolol was found to be safe and effective in reducing energy expenditure, accelerated partial burn wound and donor site closure, and limited hepatomegaly, but it does not affect hospitalization, ICU length of stay (LOS), or mortality or complication rates, according to a study published in Burns. Researchers conducted a prospective study of 124 adult patients with severe burns randomly divided into propranolol and non-propranolol groups. Propranolol was administered by nasogastric tube with the aim of lowering 15% to 20% of the initial heart rate. In the propranolol group, considerably lower resting energy expenditure was observed on the 7th and 14th days. Liver size in the propranolol group did not change significantly from admission to 3 weeks, while liver size increased significantly in the non-propranolol group. In the propranolol group, complete healing time of partial-thickness burns and donor sites were considerably shorter. No differences were observed between the two groups in number of operations, duration of ventilation, ICU and hospital LOS, rate of multiple organ failure, and death.
