Effectiveness of rhBMP-2 versus iliac autogenous bone graft in reconstructive surgery of cleft patients: an umbrella review.

The objective of this umbrella review was to determine the effectiveness of rhBMP-2 in the reconstructive surgery of cleft patients through an evaluation of bone filling and volume of newly formed bone in the cleft area. A systematic search was carried out in PubMed/ Medline, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), and the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE) via Open Grey, until June 2020. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBIS tool. A total of 2739 articles were identified and, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six were included for final evaluation. The bone filling rate was 74.23% in the rhBMP-2 group and 72.38% in the autogenous group. Regarding the risk of bias, none of the articles had a low risk, four had an uncertain risk, and two a high risk. The results of this umbrella review show that the studies had high and uncertain risks of bias, and high heterogeneity. There was a lack of evidence regarding the possible complications offered by this therapy. The recommendation to use BMP-2 for alveolar cleft reconstruction, especially in a paediatric population, should be viewed with caution. New primary studies are needed to assess this variable and safely determine the use of rhBMP-2 in reconstructive surgery for cleft patients.