Dataset Information

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

There is no cure for pulmonary arterial hypertension, but current approved treatment options include prostanoids, endothelin-receptor antagonists, and phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors. The effect on survival of these compounds has not been appropriately assessed in individual trials because of small sample size and short duration. We performed a meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials with drugs published in this condition.

Methods and results

Trials were searched in the Medline database from January 1990 to October 2008. The primary analysis included only studies with a placebo comparator arm, the sensitivity analysis also included studies comparing two active treatment arms. The main outcome measure was all-cause mortality. Twenty-one trials were included in the primary analysis (3140 patients) and two additional studies (59 patients) were included in the sensitivity analysis. Average duration of the trials was 14.3 weeks. All-cause mortality rate in the control group was 3.8%. Active treatments were associated with a reduction in mortality of 43% (RR 0.57; 95% CI 0.35-0.92; P = 0.023); the sensitivity analysis confirmed a reduction in mortality of 38% (RR 0.62; 95% CI 0.39-1.00; P = 0.048).

Conclusion

The results of this meta-analysis suggest an improvement of survival in the patients treated with the targeted therapies approved for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

SUBMITTER: Galie N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2642921 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating disease and ultimately leads to right heart failure and premature death. A total of four classical targeted drugs, prostanoids, endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs), phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE-5Is), and soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator (sGCS), have been proved to improve exercise capacity and hemodynamics compared to placebo; however, direct head-to-head comparisons of these drugs are lacking. This network meta-analysis was conducted to comprehensively compare the efficacy of these targeted drugs for PAH.MethodsMedline, the Cochrane Library, and other Internet sources were searched for randomized clinical trials exploring the efficacy of targeted drugs for patients with PAH. The primary effective end point of this network meta-analysis was a 6-minute walk distance (6MWD).ResultsThirty-two eligible trials including 6,758 patients were identified. There was a statistically significant improvement in 6MWD, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, and clinical worsening events associated with each of the four targeted drugs compared with placebo. Combination therapy improved 6MWD by 20.94 m (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.94, 34.94; P=0.003) vs prostanoids, and 16.94 m (95% CI: 4.41, 29.47; P=0.008) vs ERAs. PDE-5Is improved 6MWD by 17.28 m (95% CI: 1.91, 32.65; P=0.028) vs prostanoids, with a similar result with combination therapy. In addition, combination therapy reduced mean pulmonary artery pressure by 3.97 mmHg (95% CI: -6.06, -1.88; P<0.001) vs prostanoids, 8.24 mmHg (95% CI: -10.71, -5.76; P<0.001) vs ERAs, 3.38 mmHg (95% CI: -6.30, -0.47; P=0.023) vs PDE-5Is, and 3.94 mmHg (95% CI: -6.99, -0.88; P=0.012) vs sGCS. There were no significant differences in all-cause mortality and severe adverse events between prostanoids, ERAs, PDE-5Is, sGCS, combination therapy, and placebo.ConclusionAll targeted drugs for PAH are associated with improved clinical outcomes, especially combination therapy. However, all these drugs seem to show less favorable effects on survival in the short-term follow-up, suggesting further clinical trials are required.

Project description:Limited data about the long-term prognosis and response to therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients with World Health Organization functional class I/II symptoms are available. PubMed and Embase were searched for publications of observational registries and randomized, controlled trials in pulmonary arterial hypertension patients published between January 2001 and January 2018. Eligible registries enrolled pulmonary arterial hypertension patients ≥18 years, N > 30, and reported survival by functional class. Randomized, controlled trial inclusion criteria were pulmonary arterial hypertension patients ≥18 years, ≥6 months of treatment, and morbidity, mortality, or time to worsening as end points reported by functional class. The primary outcomes were survival for registries and clinical event rates for randomized, controlled trials. Separate random effects models were calculated for registries and randomized, controlled trials. Four randomized, controlled trials (n = 2482) and 10 registries (n = 6580) were included. Registries enrolled 9%-47% functional class I/II patients (the vast majority being functional class II) with various pulmonary arterial hypertension etiologies. Survival rates for functional class I/II patients at one, two, and three years were 93% (95% confidence interval (CI): 91%-95%), 86% (95% CI: 82%-89%), and 78% (95% CI: 73%-83%), respectively. The hazard ratio for the treatment effect in randomized, controlled trials overall was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.51-0.74) and 0.60 (95% CI: 0.44-0.82) for functional class I/II patients and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.49-0.78) for functional class III/IV. The calculated risk of death of 22% within three years for functional class I/II patients underlines the need for careful assessment and optimal treatment of patients with functional class I/II disease. The randomized, controlled trial analysis demonstrates that current medical therapies have a beneficial treatment effect in this population.

Project description:ObjectivesFew studies have focused on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with connective tissue diseases (CTDs). The optimal treatment for CTD-PAH has yet to be established.DesignMeta-analysis of the data from evaluations of treatment for PAH generally (19 studies) and CTD-PAH specifically (nine studies) to compare the effects of pulmonary vasodilative PAH agents. MEDLINE, EMBASE and BIOSIS were searched. English-language full-text articles published between January 1990 and August 2012 were eligible.SettingInternational.ParticipantsPatients with PAH generally (n=3073) and CTD-PAH specifically (n=678).Primary outcome measureExercise capacity (6 min walk distance, 6 MWD).ResultsPatients with PAH (all forms) had mean age 32-55 years (women, 61-87%); CTD-PAH patients had mean age 45-55 years (women, 74-95%). Overall estimate of mean change in 6 MWD from baseline (95% CI) for the active treatment group versus the control group in all patients with PAH was 34.6 m (27.4-41.9 m). Pooled mean differences from the results for patients receiving placebo by subgroup of patients receiving phosphodiesterase (PDE)-5 inhibitors, endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) and prostacyclin (PGI2) analogues were 22.4-45.5, 39.5-44.2 and 12.4-64.9 m, respectively. Overall estimate of mean difference between changes in 6 MWD in patients with CTD-PAH was 34.2 m (23.3-45.0 m). Pooled mean differences by subgroup of patients receiving PDE-5 inhibitors, ERAs and PGI2 analogues in patients with CTD-PAH were 37.0-47.1, 14.1-21.7 and 21.0-108.0 m, respectively. ERAs were less effective in patients with CTD-PAH than all-form patients with PAH: 14.1 m (-4.4-32.6 m) vs 39.5 m (19.5-59.6 m) for bosentan and 21.7 m (2.2-41.3 m) vs 44.2 m (30.2-58.2 m) for ambrisentan.ConclusionsAll three types of PAH agent are effective. However, ERAs may be a less effective choice against CTD-PAH; further studies are needed. Limitations include the limited number of studies for some agents and for patients with CTD-PAH.