Independent · non-commercial · publishes on a quarterly cycle|Current cycle 2026 Q3
Compound Evidence InstituteEvidence synthesis · established 2023Graded assessments of compounds, trials, methods and supply
Document set current to 30 July 2026
Evidence synthesis · §3

Thymosin beta-4 in cutaneous wound healing and tissue repair: tolerability and discontinuation — included and excluded studies

The included-studies table with extracted data, the exclusions with reasons, and the risk-of-bias judgements.

Document identifier
CEI-ES-097/3
Series
Evidence synthesis
Version
2.3
Published
24 Aug 2024
Last reviewed
24 Jul 2025
Next review
24 Jan 2027
Identifier
10.71829/cei.syn.97
Certainty
Low
Cycle
2024 Q3
Review type
Safety review
Search executed
26 May 2024

Templated review frame. This review question was generated by crossing an indication with a compound for which contributing trials exist. Its prose frame is templated and is shared with other questions of the same shape. Its included studies, its summary of findings and its certainty rating are computed from the underlying records and are not templated. The Institute publishes these questions because the alternative is to leave a question the document set can answer unanswered, and it labels them because the alternative is to present a templated frame as an authored one.

§3Included and excluded studies

Every study contributing to this review is listed below with the data extracted from it. The extraction table is published at the level of the individual outcome and study so that the synthesis can be checked without the reader having to retrieve each source.

§3.1Included studies

Table 4. Included studies with the characteristics extracted from each.

StudyDesignRandomisedDurationAnchor outcome as reportedYear
TB4-PH2-EPIDERMOLYSISThymosin beta-4Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled3012 weeksNo significant difference from vehicle2016
TB4-PH2-DRYEYEThymosin beta-4Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled724 weeksImprovement in ocular discomfort with topical administration; the systemic uses under which the compound is supplied were not evaluated2015
TB4-PH2-VENOUSULCERThymosin beta-4Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled7284 daysA signal in a small sample; not confirmed in a larger trial2013
3 included studies. Each links to its structured abstract, which carries a field-by-field provenance table distinguishing extracted figures from Institute reconstructions.

Contributing participants across studies reporting a randomised total: 174. Studies for which the Institute does not hold a randomised total contribute to the qualitative synthesis and not to any pooled figure.

§3.2Excluded at full text, with reasons

Table 5. Reports excluded at full text, by reason. A review that reports an exclusion count without reasons cannot be checked against its own protocol.

Reason for exclusionReports
Not a randomised comparison5
Population outside the review question5
Intervention outside the review question4
Comparator not eligible5
No eligible outcome reported1
Duplicate report of an included study2
Conference abstract without extractable data3
Retracted or subject to an expression of concern3
19 reports excluded at full text in total.

§3.3Risk of bias across included studies

Table 6. Risk-of-bias judgement recorded for each included study on the review's anchor outcome.

StudyRisk of biasInconsistencyIndirectnessImprecisionPublication bias
TB4-PH2-EPIDERMOLYSISHighLowLowLowLow
TB4-PH2-DRYEYESomeSomeLowLowLow
TB4-PH2-VENOUSULCERSomeSomeLowLowLow
Judgements are the Institute's own and are recorded per outcome. A study may carry a different judgement in a different review that assesses a different outcome from it.

References cited on this page

References are numbered in order of first citation in this document. Each superscript in the text links to its entry below.

  1. Goldstein AL, Hannappel E, Sosne G, Kleinman HK. Thymosin β4: a multi-functional regenerative peptide. Basic properties and clinical applications. Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy 2012;12(1):37–51. doi:10.1517/14712598.2012.634793 · PMID 22074294

Identifiers are reproduced only where the Institute holds them. Where a digital object identifier or PubMed identifier is not shown, the Institute has recorded the journal and year and has not constructed an identifier.

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