anurajms/meta_analysis huggingface dataset:
primary outcome:
Tailored interventions based on sputum eosinophils versus clinical symptoms for asthma in children and adults
Proportion of participants who had asthma exacerbations during follow‐up.
primary outcome:
Culture‐specific programs for children and adults from minority groups who have asthma
Attempts were made to obtain data on at least one of the following outcome measures. All analyses were planned separately for adults and children.
primary outcome:
Aerosolized prostacyclins for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
Overall mortality. We used the longest follow‐up data from each trial regardless of the period of follow‐up.Overall 28‐day mortality (data presented at 30 days are to be incorporated in this analysis)
primary outcome:
Self‐management interventions including action plans for exacerbations versus usual care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Health‐related quality of life (HRQoL).Respiratory‐related hospital admissions.
primary outcome:
ProSeal versus Classic laryngeal mask airway (LMA) for positive pressure ventilation in adults undergoing elective surgery
Inadequate oxygenation measured as less than 90% on peripheral oxygen saturation (SaO₂)Inadequate ventilation assessed by end‐tidal carbon dioxide concentration (ETCO₂) greater than 45 mm Hg
primary outcome:
Non‐invasive ventilation for the management of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure due to exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Mortality during hospital episode of respiratory failureNeed for endotracheal intubation (qualification for intubation and mechanical ventilation criteria, as defined by study investigators. If criteria regarding the need for endotracheal intubation were not specified or could not be accurately evaluated, actual incidence of intubation was accepted)
primary outcome:
Umeclidinium bromide versus placebo for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Exacerbations requiring a short course of an oral steroid or antibiotic, or bothQuality of life as measured by a validated scale: St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) or the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ)Non‐fatal serious adverse events
primary outcome:
Mass media interventions for preventing smoking in young people
Smoking/tobacco use status: daily, weekly, monthly, ever, non‐smoker, smokeless tobacco user, smoker (frequency/quantity unspecified). We excluded studies which did not report smoking behaviour.Young people may be classified as smokers or non‐smokers in different ways; where possible we preferred the strictest definition, in which young people with any history of cigarette use were defined as smokers.
primary outcome:
Computer and mobile technology interventions for self‐management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Hospital admissionsAcute exacerbations requiring general practitioner (GP) visit or additional treatment, or bothHealth‐related quality of life (HRQoL) (as measured by St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ), Short Form (SF)‐36, or any validated instrument)
primary outcome:
Tobacco packaging design for reducing tobacco use
The primary outcome is changes in tobacco use prevalence incorporating tobacco use uptake, tobacco use cessation, reduction in consumption and relapse prevention.Prevalence measures include the number of people classified as current smokers (defined differently in different studies). We intended to measure cessation as people who were tobacco users at baseline who were quit at follow‐up; no studies reported on this outcome, nor did any report on relapse prevention, defined as going back to smoking after a period of abstinence. We measured consumption according to the methods reported in individual papers, most commonly cigarettes per day but also including packs per day. We planned to evaluate the impact on uptake through the proportion of children and young people reporting current tobacco use, but again no papers reported on this outcome. It should be noted that the primary outcomes considered here are not typically the primary objectives of country regulations, which instead focus on our secondary outcomes below.We found five published studies which examined changes in tobacco use. Three were from Australia, assessing the impact of standardised packaging legislation implemented in 2012 (Diethelm 2015; Miller 2015; Scollo 2015). Two were experimental studies from the UK (Maynard 2015; Moodie 2013). One study examined changes in prevalence (Diethelm 2015) and four studies examined changes in tobacco consumption among smokers (Maynard 2015; Miller 2015; Moodie 2013; Scollo 2015). No studies examined changes in relapse and tobacco uptake.
primary outcome:
Lay‐led and peer support interventions for adolescents with asthma
Asthma‐related quality of life (measured on a validated scale, e.g. Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ))Asthma exacerbations requiring at least a course of oral steroids
primary outcome:
Interventions to improve adherence to inhaled steroids for asthma
Adherence to ICS (as reported by trialists; e.g. self‐report via diary or questionnaire, electronic monitoring, prescription monitoring/pharmacy claims data).Exacerbations requiring at least oral corticosteroids.Asthma control (ideally measured on a validated scale such as the Asthma Control Test (ACT)).
primary outcome:
Asthma education for school staff
Visits to emergency department (ED)/hospitalMortalityAsthma control (measured on a validated scale such as the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ))
primary outcome:
Group behaviour therapy programmes for smoking cessation
The main outcome was abstinence from cigarettes at follow‐up at least six months after the start of treatment. We excluded trials that reported only shorter follow‐up or had no measurement of smoking cessation.
In each study we used the strictest available criteria to define abstinence. For example, in studies where biochemical validation of cessation was available, we counted as abstinent only those participants who met the criteria for biochemically‐confirmed abstinence. Wherever possible, we used a sustained cessation rate, rather than point prevalence. Where participants were lost to follow‐up, we regarded them as being continuing smokers.
primary outcome:
Psychological therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Change in anxiety symptoms as measured by a standardised or validated anxiety measure, for example, State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) (Spielberger 1970), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (Zigmond 1983) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (Beck 1961; BAI 1993). These scales generated a total score which were recorded for all pair‐wise comparisons as short‐term follow up data (up to and including six months) or long term follow‐up data (greater than six months), or both.Adverse events
primary outcome:
Addition of anti‐leukotriene agents to inhaled corticosteroids for adults and adolescents with persistent asthma
ExacerbationsNumber of participants with one or more exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids (unless both groups were tapering their dose of ICS, in which case, the primary outcome was the % reduction in ICS dose from baseline with maintained asthma control)
primary outcome:
Interventions to improve inhaler technique for people with asthma
Inhaler technique (as assessed/rated by triallist; change from baseline scores preferred if available)Asthma control (preferably measured on a validated scale, e.g. Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ))Asthma exacerbations requiring at least oral corticosteroids (OCSs)
primary outcome:
System change interventions for smoking cessation
Following the standard methodology of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, the primary outcome was abstinence from smoking at longest follow‐up, assessed as point prevalence (defined as prevalence of abstinence during a time window immediately preceding the follow‐up) or continued or prolonged abstinence (defined as abstinence between quit day or predetermined grace period and a follow‐up time). We used the strictest available criteria to define abstinence, preferring continuous or prolonged abstinence over point prevalence abstinence, and biochemically‐validated abstinence over self‐reported abstinence.Studies that did not assess smoking cessation were also eligible for inclusion if they reported any secondary outcome and met the other inclusion criteria. We examined and reported the classification of primary and secondary outcomes in each included study.
primary outcome:
Fluid restriction for treatment of preterm infants with chronic lung disease
Mortality or requirement for oxygen at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (CLD).
primary outcome:
Stepping down the dose of inhaled corticosteroids for adults with asthma
Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroidsAsthma control (measured on a validated scale; preferred measure is the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) score)All‐cause serious adverse eventsSteroid‐related adverse events
primary outcome:
Pneumococcal vaccines for preventing pneumonia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
PneumoniaMortality, respiratory‐related and all‐causeHealthcare utilisation, including hospital admissions and emergency department visits
primary outcome:
Combined inhaled beta‐agonist and anticholinergic agents for emergency management in adults with asthma
the proportion of participants requiring hospitalisation.
primary outcome:
Action plans with brief patient education for exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Healthcare utilisation, including respiratory‐related hospital admission, treatment in an emergency department (ED) and GP visits for COPD.Mortality: respiratory‐related and all‐cause.Use of medication: time to initiation of therapy after symptom onset; courses/duration of antibiotic or corticosteroid use, or both; participant initiation of antibiotic or steroid use, or both.
primary outcome:
Pulmonary rehabilitation following exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Hospital admissions (at least one hospital admission during follow‐up)
primary outcome:
Oxygen for breathlessness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who do not qualify for home oxygen therapy
Level of breathlessness measured on any validated scale
primary outcome:
Upper limb exercise training for COPD
Symptoms of dyspnoea measured using dyspnoea scores from a respiratory‐specific quality‐of‐life questionnaire (e.g. dyspnoea from the chronic respiratory disease questionnaire).Health‐related quality of life measured using total scores from generic or respiratory‐specific quality‐of‐life questionnaires (e.g. total score on the chronic respiratory disease questionnaire, total score on the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire).
primary outcome:
Exhaled nitric oxide levels to guide treatment for children with asthma
Asthma exacerbations during follow‐up defined as:number of participants who had one or more exacerbation over the study period;number of exacerbations per 52 weeks (exacerbation rate);severe exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids;severe exacerbation requiring hospitalisations.
primary outcome:
Bronchodilators delivered by nebuliser versus pMDI with spacer or DPI for exacerbations of COPD
Change in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), one hour after dosingSerious adverse events
primary outcome:
Smoking cessation for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Percentage of participants with continuous or prolonged abstinence over a period of six months or longer.
primary outcome:
Endothelin receptor antagonists for persistent pulmonary hypertension in term and late preterm infants
1. Death from any cause prior to hospital discharge or need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)2. Requirement for ECMO prior to hospital discharge3. Death from any cause prior to hospital discharge1. Death from any cause prior to hospital discharge:Mohamed 2012 reported this outcome; there was no significant difference between the Bosentan and placebo group (1/23 vs 3/14; RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.02 to 1.77; RD −0.17, 95% CI: −0.40 to 0.06 (Analysis 1.1) ( Figure 3). Test for heterogeneity was not applicable.The outcomes of 'Need for ECMO' and 'Death from any cause prior to hospital discharge or need for ECMO' were not reported by Mohamed 2012 because ECMO facilities were not available in their set up.
primary outcome:
Home telemonitoring and remote feedback between clinic visits for asthma
Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids*.Asthma control (measured on a validated scale, e.g. the Asthma Control Questionnaire).Serious adverse events (including mortality).
primary outcome:
Guanylate cyclase stimulators for pulmonary hypertension
Change in exercise capacity, measured by 6MWD.Mortality
primary outcome:
Codeine versus placebo for chronic cough in children
number of children not cured at follow‐up;number of children who experienced a reduction in cough severity (clinically defined as a greater than 70% change in severity as per previous RCTs) (Chang 1998; Marchant 2012);serious adverse events (a reaction to the study drug that results in hospital admission or loss of life, or both).
primary outcome:
Ambulatory and short‐burst oxygen for interstitial lung disease
Exercise capacity, as assessed by validated measures including the six‐minute walking test distance and incremental shuttle walk test;health‐related quality of life, as measured by a validated instrument;dyspnoea, as assessed by a validated instrument;serious adverse events.
primary outcome:
Combination inhaled steroid and long‐acting beta2‐agonist in addition to tiotropium versus tiotropium or combination alone for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Mortality (all‐cause).Exercise tolerance.Hospital admissions: all‐cause and due to exacerbations.Exacerbations: all‐cause, requiring short burst oral corticosteroids or antibiotics as defined by agreed criteria.Health‐related quality of life (measured with a validated scale for COPD, e.g. St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ)).Serious adverse events non‐fatal.Pneumonia.
primary outcome:
Different oral corticosteroid regimens for acute asthma
Admission/re‐admission to hospital.Asthma symptoms at end of steroid course.Serious adverse events.
primary outcome:
Intravenous magnesium sulfate for treating children with acute asthma in the emergency department
Hospital admissions.
primary outcome:
Remote versus face‐to‐face check‐ups for asthma
Exacerbations that required oral corticosteroidsa.Asthma control (measured on a validated scale, e.g. the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)).Serious adverse events (including mortality).
primary outcome:
Breathing exercises for children with asthma
Quality of life (measured by any respiratory disease‐specific or generic instrument).Asthma symptoms (measured by any respiratory disease‐specific or generic instrument).Serious adverse events (any undesired outcomes due to the intervention).
primary outcome:
High‐frequency oscillatory ventilation versus conventional ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome
Hospital or 30‐day mortality
primary outcome:
Combined pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions for smoking cessation
Following the standard methodology of the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, the primary outcome is smoking cessation at the longest follow‐up using the strictest definition of abstinence, that is, preferring sustained over point prevalence abstinence and using biochemically validated rates where available. We also noted any other abstinence outcomes reported and conducted sensitivity analyses to test if the choice of outcome affected the results of meta‐analysis. We excluded trials reporting less than six months follow‐up from the start of intervention.
primary outcome:
Protocolized versus non‐protocolized weaning for reducing the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation in newborn infants
Total duration of mechanical ventilation, measured in hours, from initiation of invasive mechanical ventilation to removal, per gestational age group:Preterm infants (subdivided into three groups)extremely low birth weight infants (< 1000 grams)very low birth weight infants (< 1500 grams)preterm infants (either defined as < 2500 grams or based on gestational age less than 36 weeks)Term infants.Total duration of mechanical ventilation per ventilation mode.
primary outcome:
Smoking cessation advice for people with serious mental illness
For the purposes of this review we aimed to divide outcomes into four time periods: i. immediate (within one week); ii. short term (one week to six months); iii. medium term (six months to one year); and iv. long‐term (over one year).
primary outcome:
Inhaled non‐steroid anti‐inflammatories for children and adults with bronchiectasis
For short‐term effectiveness ( ≤ 12 months): mean difference in control of bronchiectasis severity (quality of life (QOL), cough scores).For medium‐ to long‐term outcomes (> 1 year): difference in lung function data (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) % predicted).
primary outcome:
Long‐acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) added to combination long‐acting beta2‐agonists and inhaled corticosteroids (LABA/ICS) versus LABA/ICS for adults with asthma
Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroidsQuality of life (measured on a validated asthma scale, e.g. Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire, AQLQ)Serious adverse events (all causes)
primary outcome:
Comparison of animal‐derived surfactants for the prevention and treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants
Neonatal mortality (mortality < 28 days of age) from any cause.Mortality prior to hospital discharge (from any cause).Chronic lung disease (in all infants):oxygen requirement at 28 to 30 days of age;oxygen requirement at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age.Death or chronic lung disease:death or oxygen requirement at 28 to 30 days of age;death or oxygen requirement at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age.
primary outcome:
Addition of long‐acting beta2‐agonists to inhaled corticosteroids for chronic asthma in children
Number of asthma exacerbations of moderate intensity, that is, requiring a short course of systemic corticosteroids.
primary outcome:
Airway clearance techniques for bronchiectasis
Rate of, duration of or time to acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis, as defined by investigators. The minimal time over which data related to rates of acute exacerbation were obtained was one month, during which ACTs may have continued.Incidence of hospitalisation for bronchiectasis:for stable bronchiectasis ‐ time to hospitalisation, number of hospital admissions or hospital days; orfor exacerbation of acute bronchiectasis ‐ length of hospital stay, time to re‐admission, number of hospital admissions or hospital days.Quality of life, as measured by a generic or disease‐specific HRQoL instrument.
primary outcome:
Interventions for enhancing adherence to treatment in adults with bronchiectasis
Adherence to at least one aspect of treatment (medication, airway clearance, medical devices or physical activity) as measured by direct (e.g. electronic monitoring, directly observed therapy) or indirect methods (e.g. self report, prescription refill data).Rate of, duration of or time to first pulmonary exacerbation of bronchiectasis, defined according to the investigators' definition.
primary outcome:
Exercise training to improve exercise capacity and quality of life in people with non‐malignant dust‐related respiratory diseases
Exercise capacity measured by a field walking test, a cardiopulmonary exercise test or a constant work rate exercise test;Health‐related quality of life measured by generic or respiratory disease‐specific quality of life questionnaires.
primary outcome:
Interventions for smokeless tobacco use cessation
The preferred outcome for the meta‐analysis was complete abstinence from all tobacco use six months or more after the start of the intervention. If total tobacco abstinence was not reported, abstinence from ST alone was used. Trials with shorter follow‐up (less than six months) or that did not report quit rates were excluded. Biochemical validation of self‐reported abstinence was not required, but validated rates were used where reported.
primary outcome:
Long‐acting beta2‐agonist in addition to tiotropium versus either tiotropium or long‐acting beta2‐agonist alone for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Quality of life (measured with a validated scale for COPD, e.g. St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ)).Hospital admissions; all cause and due to exacerbations.Mortality; all‐cause.Disease‐specific mortality, if independently adjudicated.
primary outcome:
Leukotriene receptor antagonists as maintenance and intermittent therapy for episodic viral wheeze in children
Number of children with one or more viral‐induced episodes requiring one or more treatments with rescue oral corticosteroids.
primary outcome:
Tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy versus non‐surgical management for obstructive sleep‐disordered breathing in children
Disease‐specific quality of life (using any validated instrument, such as Obstructive Sleep Apnoea 18 (OSA‐18) or Obstructive Sleep Disorders 6‐survey (OSD‐6) ‐ see the Spruyt 2011 review for a comprehensive list) and/or a disease‐specific symptom score (using any validated instrument, such as the Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire ‐ see the Spruyt 2011 review for a comprehensive list).Adverse events, complications and morbidity associated with (adeno)tonsillectomy and comparators. We extracted data on intraoperative and (severity of) postoperative bleeding (requiring attention and/or intervention and/or hospitalisation), (severity of) postoperative infection (requiring attention and/or intervention and/or hospitalisation), (severity of) postoperative dehydration (requiring attention and/or intervention and/or hospitalisation), (severity of) postoperative pain (using a validated instrument) and days until no longer requiring analgesia.
primary outcome:
Calcium channel blockers for pulmonary arterial hypertension
Exercise capacity (six‐minute walk test/6MWD).WHO/NYHA functional class.
primary outcome:
Tiotropium versus ipratropium bromide for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Trough forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) at three monthsAll‐cause non‐fatal serious adverse events (SAEs)Disease specific serious adverse events, if independently adjudicated
primary outcome:
Long‐acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) added to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) versus the same dose of ICS alone for adults with asthma
Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids.Quality of life (measured on a validated asthma scale, e.g. Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire).All‐cause serious adverse events.
primary outcome:
Animal derived surfactant extract versus protein free synthetic surfactant for the prevention and treatment of respiratory distress syndrome
MortalityBronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (defined as oxygen dependency at 28 to 30 days of age)Chronic lung disease (CLD) (defined as oxygen dependency at 36 weeks postmenstrual age)BPD or deathCLD or death
primary outcome:
Prolonged antibiotics for non‐cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in children and adults
Exacerbations.Hospitalisations.
primary outcome:
Intermittent inhaled corticosteroid therapy versus placebo for persistent asthma in children and adults
Asthma exacerbations: patients experience one or more exacerbations requiring rescue oral corticosteroids.Serious adverse events.
primary outcome:
Long‐acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) added to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) versus higher dose ICS for adults with asthma
Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroidsQuality of life (measured on a validated asthma scale, e.g. Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire)Serious adverse events (all causes)
primary outcome:
Effects of opioid, hypnotic and sedating medications on sleep‐disordered breathing in adults with obstructive sleep apnoea
Apnoea‐hypopnoea index (AHI).Oxygen desaturation index (ODI).
primary outcome:
Stopping long‐acting beta2‐agonists (LABA) for adults with asthma well controlled by LABA and inhaled corticosteroids
Exacerbation requiring systemic corticosteroids.Asthma control* (measured on a validated scale, e.g. Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)).Serious adverse events (all cause).
primary outcome:
Long‐acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) added to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) versus addition of long‐acting beta2‐agonists (LABA) for adults with asthma
Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids.Quality of life (measured on a validated asthma scale, e.g. Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire; AQLQ).Any serious adverse event.
primary outcome:
Stopping long‐acting beta2‐agonists (LABA) for children with asthma well controlled on LABA and inhaled corticosteroids
Exacerbations requiring systemic corticosteroidsAsthma control* (measured on a validated scale, e.g. Asthma Control Questionnaire)Serious adverse events (all cause)
primary outcome:
Pulmonary rehabilitation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
We considered disease‐specific HRQoL and/or maximal or functional exercise capacity (up to and including three months after the end of the intervention). We defined 'maximal exercise capacity' as the peak capacity measured by an incremental cycle ergometry test. 'Functional exercise capacity' was defined according to the results of timed walk tests (Holland 2014).
primary outcome:
Pressure‐controlled versus volume‐controlled ventilation for acute respiratory failure due to acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
In‐hospital mortality, including ICU mortality.Mortality at 28 days.
primary outcome:
Early versus late tracheostomy for critically ill patients
Mortality (time to mortality or frequency of deaths at any time point: in hospital, in ICU, or after discharge).Duration of artificial ventilation.
primary outcome:
Indacaterol, a once‐daily beta2‐agonist, versus twice‐daily beta2‐agonists or placebo for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Trough forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1).Mean difference in quality of life.Number of participants with a clinically significant improvement in quality of life.
primary outcome:
Alpha‐2 agonists for long‐term sedation during mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients
Duration of mechanical ventilation (as defined by authors of the studies).Risk of delirium, measured with any diagnostic criteria, such as the confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit (CAM‐ICU).Risk of coma (as defined by authors of the studies).
primary outcome:
Pentoxifylline for the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants
BPD (supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks PMA);Death prior to 36 weeks PMA;BPD or death prior to 36 weeks PMA.
primary outcome:
Aclidinium bromide for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Mortality (all‐cause and respiratory)Exacerbations requiring a short course of an oral steroid or antibiotic, or bothQuality of life measured by a validated scale, the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) or Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ)
primary outcome:
Automated weaning and SBT systems versus non‐automated weaning strategies for weaning time in invasively ventilated critically ill adults
The primary outcome was weaning time (time from randomization to extubation) as defined by the study authors.
primary outcome:
Systemic corticosteroids for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Treatment failure: defined as necessity to intensify pharmacological treatment, hospital admission during outpatient treatment or return to emergency department during outpatient treatment.Relapse: defined as treatment or hospital admission for a COPD exacerbation after completion of study treatment.Mortality.
primary outcome:
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during the postoperative period for prevention of postoperative morbidity and mortality following major abdominal surgery
All‐cause mortality.Major respiratory complications as defined in individual studies (significant atelectasis, pneumonia, significant hypoxia, tracheal reintubation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission).
primary outcome:
Inhaled anticholinergics and short‐acting beta2‐agonists versus short‐acting beta2‐agonists alone for children with acute asthma in hospital
Duration of hospital stay.Serious adverse events.
primary outcome:
Tiotropium versus placebo for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Quality of life; measured with a scale validated for COPD, such as St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ).Exacerbations; requiring oral corticosteroids and/or antibiotics.Mortality; all‐cause.Hospital admissions; all‐cause and due to exacerbations.
primary outcome:
Water‐based exercise for adults with asthma
Quality of life (measured using a validated questionnaire, e.g. Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ)).Exacerbations (leading to a course of oral steroids; health centre visits or exacerbations; or hospitalisations).
primary outcome:
Inhaled corticosteroids in children with persistent asthma: effects on growth
Linear growth velocity, obtained by measuring height at a number of time points during the study and performing linear regression of height against time (Price 2002). The slope of the regression gives linear growth velocity, expressed in cm/year (y) or mm/week (wk).
primary outcome:
Inhaled corticosteroids in children with persistent asthma: dose‐response effects on growth
Linear growth velocity (cm/y), obtained by measuring height at a number of time points during the study and performing linear regression of height over time (Price 2002a).
primary outcome:
Ambulatory oxygen for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are not hypoxaemic at rest
Exercise capacity on room air or on oxygen (e.g. timed walking tests, endurance tests).Mortality.
primary outcome:
Combination inhaled corticosteroids and long‐acting beta2‐agonists for children and adults with bronchiectasis
For acute exacerbations.Mean difference in symptom scores at end of trial.Duration of exacerbation.For stable state.Clinical indices of bronchiectasis control (quality of life (QOL), Likert scale, visual analogue scale, level of interference of cough, etc).Exacerbation frequency.
primary outcome:
Intravenous magnesium sulfate for treating adults with acute asthma in the emergency department
Hospital admissions.
primary outcome:
Written emotional disclosure for asthma
Physiological measure of lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC)).
primary outcome:
Non‐invasive ventilation during exercise training for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Exercise capacity (defined as peak exercise capacity, constant work rate (endurance) exercise capacity or functional exercise capacity measured post exercise training, without NIV).Health‐related quality of life (measured using disease‐specific or generic HRQL instruments).Physical activity: direct measurement (e.g. metabolic equivalents (METS), step count).
primary outcome:
Mucolytics for bronchiectasis
Frequency and duration of exacerbations.Hospitalisations.Adverse events.
primary outcome:
Long‐acting inhaled therapy (beta‐agonists, anticholinergics and steroids) for COPD: a network meta‐analysis
Quality of life (measured as change from baseline assessed with St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ)).Trough FEV1 (change in mL from baseline).
primary outcome:
Inhaled steroids and risk of pneumonia for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Non‐fatal, serious adverse pneumonia events (requiring hospital admission).
primary outcome:
Addition to inhaled corticosteroids of long‐acting beta2‐agonists versus anti‐leukotrienes for chronic asthma
Number of participants with asthma exacerbations requiring a rescue short course of systemic corticosteroids.
primary outcome:
Water‐based exercise training for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Exercise capacity (functional or maximal), measured during formal exercise tests or field exercise tests.Quality of life, measured by generic or respiratory‐specific quality of life questionnaires.
primary outcome:
Combination formoterol and budesonide as maintenance and reliever therapy versus combination inhaler maintenance for chronic asthma in adults and children
Exacerbations requiring hospitalisation.Exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids.Serious adverse events (including mortality and life‐threatening events).
primary outcome:
Noninvasive positive‐pressure ventilation as a weaning strategy for intubated adults with respiratory failure
The primary outcome was all‐cause mortality, as reported at specific time points by study authors.
primary outcome:
Antibody induction therapy for lung transplant recipients
MortalityAcute rejection (≥ A2) according to the classification of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (A0 (no rejection), A1 (minimal rejection), A2 (mild rejection), A3 (severe rejection); Stewart 2007). We did not plan to evaluate secondary types of rejection such as airway inflammation related to bronchiolesAdverse events. Serious adverse events were defined as any untoward medical occurrence that was life threatening, resulted in death, or persistent or significant disability, or any medical event which might have jeopardised the patient or required intervention/s to prevent it. All other adverse events (any medical occurrence not necessarily having a causal relationship with treatment) were considered as non‐serious (ICH GCP 1996).
primary outcome:
Smartphone and tablet self management apps for asthma
Symptom scores measured using any validated standard instrument.Frequency of healthcare visits, both planned and unplanned (emergency department, general practitioners (GPs), hospitalisations), due to asthma exacerbations or complications. For the purpose of this review, we defined unplanned healthcare visits as those instances which were not normally part of a patient's regular review as recommended by clinical guidelines. Therefore, if patients called their GP to book an appointment, with asthma being the purpose of the appointment, before their annual review was due, we considered it an unplanned healthcare visit. To protect the treatment effect from being distorted by people experiencing many exacerbations, we dichotomised this outcome variable to: number of people experiencing no event and number of people experiencing one or more events.Health‐related quality of life (QoL) scores measured using any validated standard instrument.
primary outcome:
Thyrotropin‐releasing hormone added to corticosteroids for women at risk of preterm birth for preventing neonatal respiratory disease
Death prior to hospital discharge;chronic lung disease (variously defined by authors);respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
primary outcome:
Prostaglandins before caesarean section for preventing neonatal respiratory distress
Incidence of respiratory distress in neonates: respiratory distress will be considered as defined by the authors.Need for mechanical ventilation of the neonate: this could be the Ambu resuscitator or endotracheal intubation. Apgar score of newborn: the Apgar score is usually used to represent the neonate's ability to initiate and maintain breathing after birth on a scale from zero to 10. It is measured at the first and fifth minute of life. Apgar scores less than three indicate severe respiratory depression and scores from four to six indicate mild to moderate respiratory depression. There is no respiratory depression when the scores are from seven to 10 (Apgar 1953; Harrison 2008).
primary outcome:
Combined corticosteroid and long‐acting beta2‐agonist in one inhaler versus placebo for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Exacerbations, measured as rate or number of participants experiencing an exacerbation.All‐cause mortality.Pneumonia.Hospitalisations due to COPD exacerbation (note that we accepted COPD reported as a serious adverse event as a surrogate marker for this outcome; the internationally recognised definition of a serious adverse event includes a life‐threatening event or one that results in hospitalisation or prolonged hospitalisation).
primary outcome:
Long‐acting beta2‐agonists for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Quality of life; mean difference and responders analysis (number of participants with clinically significant improvement or worsening); measured with a scale validated for COPD, such as St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) or the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ).Severe COPD exacerbations (COPD exacerbations leading to hospitalisation).
primary outcome:
Beclometasone for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Change in lung function (FEV1, FEV1/FVC).Mortality (all‐cause and respiratory).Pneumonia.
primary outcome:
Addition of anti‐leukotriene agents to inhaled corticosteroids in children with persistent asthma
The number of participants with one or more exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroids (unless both groups were tapering their dose of ICS, in which case, the main outcome was the change from the baseline dose of ICS required to maintain control).
primary outcome:
Beta2‐agonists for exercise‐induced asthma
Mean max % fall in FEV1 (100 × (baseline pre‐exercise value － lowest postexercise value)/baseline pre‐exercise value) in people treated with a beta2‐agonist versus mean max % fall in FEV1 in people treated with placeboMean % protection afforded by beta2‐agonists (% protection = 100 × (max % fall FEV1 placebo － max % fall FEV1 beta2‐agonist)/max % fall FEV1 placebo)Mean area under the curve (AUC) of time course changes in FEV1 after exercise in people treated with a beta2‐agonist versus mean AUC of time course changes in FEV1 after exercise in people treated with placebo
primary outcome:
Physical training for asthma
Asthma symptoms, which included episodes of wheeze or shortness of breath, symptoms score, dyspnoea or number of symptom free days etc.
primary outcome:
Holding chambers (spacers) versus nebulisers for beta‐agonist treatment of acute asthma
Admission to hospital.Duration of hospital stay for inpatients.
primary outcome:
Inspiratory muscle training for asthma
Inspiratory muscle strengthExacerbations requiring a course of oral or inhaled corticosteroids or emergency department visits
primary outcome:
Combined corticosteroid and long‐acting beta2‐agonist in one inhaler versus inhaled corticosteroids alone for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
All exacerbationsHospitalisations due to COPD exacerbationMortalityPneumonia
primary outcome:
Combined inhaled anticholinergics and short‐acting beta2‐agonists for initial treatment of acute asthma in children
Hospital admission.
primary outcome:
Partial liquid ventilation for preventing death and morbidity in adults with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome
Mortality (at 28 d, at discharge from ICU, at discharge from hospital and at one, two and five years).
primary outcome:
Combination inhaled steroid and long‐acting beta2‐agonist versus tiotropium for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Mortality (all‐cause)Hospital admissionExacerbations; all‐cause, requiring short courses of oral corticosteroids or antibiotics as defined by agreed criteriaPneumonia
primary outcome:
Drug therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea in adults
Apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI)Epworth Sleepiness Score (ESS)
primary outcome:
Physician advice for smoking cessation
The principal outcome used in the review was smoking cessation rather than reduction in withdrawal symptoms, or reduction in amount of cigarettes smoked. Thus we excluded trials that did not provide data on smoking cessation rates. In each study we used the strictest available criteria to define abstinence . That is, we used rates of sustained cessation rather than point prevalence abstinence where possible. Where biochemical validation was used, we classified only those people meeting the biochemical criteria for cessation as abstainers; and where participants were lost to follow‐up, they were regarded as continuing smokers. We required a minimum follow‐up of at least six months for inclusion, and used the longest follow‐up reported. A secondary outcome was the effect of smoking advice on subsequent mortality and morbidity.
primary outcome:
Combination formoterol and budesonide as maintenance and reliever therapy versus current best practice (including inhaled steroid maintenance), for chronic asthma in adults and children
Patients with exacerbations requiring hospitalisationPatients with exacerbations requiring oral corticosteroidsSerious adverse events (including mortality and life‐threatening events)Growth (in children)
primary outcome:
Swimming training for asthma in children and adolescents aged 18 years and under
Quality of life measured by disease specific or generic questionnaires (e.g. Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) (Juniper 1996).Asthma control measured by questionnaires/symptom diaries.Exacerbations of asthma requiring attendance at hospital.Systemic steroid use for exacerbations of asthma.
primary outcome:
Inhaled corticosteroids for subacute cough in children
Proportion of participants who were not cured or not substantially improved (> 70% reduction in cough severity measure) at follow‐up (clinical failure).objective measurements of cough indices (cough frequency, cough receptor sensitivity);symptomatic (quality of life, Likert scale, visual analogue scale, level of interference of cough, cough diary) ‐ assessed by the patient (child);symptomatic (quality of life, Likert scale, visual analogue scale, level of interference of cough, cough diary) ‐ assessed by the parents/carers;symptomatic (Likert scale, visual analogue scale, level of interference of cough, cough diary) ‐ assessed by clinicians.
primary outcome:
Lung protective ventilation strategy for the acute respiratory distress syndrome
Overall mortality, evaluated at hospital discharge (if this information was unavailable, mortality was evaluated at the end of the follow‐up period scheduled for each trial)There is evidence that the cause of death in ARDS is the development of organ failure (Monchi 1998), and that mechanical ventilation might be a factor leading to multiple organ failure. The duration of mechanical ventilation could also lead to the development of associated infectious diseases that could affect the patients' overall prognosis, such as ventilator‐associated pneumonia (VAP). If mortality is equal, other outcomes become important to the patients such as long‐term quality of life and cognitive impairment.
primary outcome:
Partial liquid ventilation for the prevention of mortality and morbidity in paediatric acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome
Mortality (28‐day, or at discharge from ICU, at discharge from hospital, at 1, 2, and 5 years)Duration of mechanical ventilation
primary outcome:
Ciclesonide versus other inhaled corticosteroids for chronic asthma in children
Asthma symptoms: asthma symptom score and number of days without symptoms and use of rescue medication.(Severe) asthma exacerbations defined as:hospital admission;visit to emergency department;need for additional course of corticosteroids;a combination of the above.Adverse effects: oropharyngeal candidiasis, sore throat, symptoms of hoarseness, growth, lower‐leg growth, adrenal insufficiency, plasma cortisol, urinary cortisol excretion.
primary outcome:
Intermittent versus daily inhaled corticosteroids for persistent asthma in children and adults
Patients experiencing one or more exacerbations requiring rescue oral corticosteroids.Patients with serious adverse health events.
primary outcome:
Psychosocial interventions for reducing antipsychotic medication in care home residents
Use of regularly prescribed antipsychotic medication measured at the residential or cluster level (e.g. number of participants receiving a regular prescription, person‐days of antipsychotic use)Adverse events
primary outcome:
Interventions for preventing and reducing the use of physical restraints for older people in all long‐term care settings
number or proportion of participants with at least one physical restraint, assessed with validated methods (e.g. direct observation or from the documentation);serious adverse events, e.g. death or serious injuries related to PR use (e.g. strangulation).
primary outcome:
Cognitive behavioural therapy plus standard care versus standard care for persistent aggressive behaviour or agitation in people with schizophrenia
We aimed to divide all outcomes according to the following time points: up to one month (short term), up to three months (medium‐term), up to six months (long term), and over six months (very long term). If feasible, we also aimed to single out outcomes reported at 12 months or more to inform whether effects are sustainable over long time periods.We endeavoured to report binary outcomes recording clear and clinically meaningful degrees of change (e.g. global impression of much improved, or more than 50% improvement on a rating scale ‐ as defined within the trials) before any others. Thereafter, we listed other binary outcomes, and then those that were continuous.For binary outcomes such as 'clinically important change', 'any change', and 'relapse', we used the definition used by each of the trials.We only included data from validated scales (see Data extraction and management).
primary outcome:
Cognitive rehabilitation for people with mild to moderate dementia
Functional ability in targeted activities. The primary outcome of a CR intervention is the effect on participants’ functional ability to engage in and carry out the activities specifically targeted in the intervention (Wilson 2002). This may be assessed by means of ratings of performance on a standard scale made by the participant, caregiver, or practitioner (or a combination), or through direct observation and recording of performance on specific tasks. An example of a standard scale for rating the attainment of therapy goals is the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM, Law 2005). An example of an observational measure is the Direct Measure of Training (Thivierge 2014).
primary outcome:
Personally tailored activities for improving psychosocial outcomes for people with dementia in long‐term care
Agitation or challenging behaviour, assessed by e.g. the Cohen‐Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI).Quality of life, assessed by e.g. Dementia Care Mapping, EuroQol (EQ‐5D).Adverse effects of the interventions employed (e.g. injuries).
primary outcome:
Cognitive stimulation to improve cognitive functioning in people with dementia
For the primary outcome measure we sought to identify whether short‐term changes were observed following the intervention for the person with dementia on performance on at least one test of cognitive functioning (including tests of memory and orientation).
primary outcome:
Non‐pharmacological interventions for sleep disturbances in people with dementia
Objective sleep‐related outcomes. We considered any of the following outcome measures:Total nocturnal sleep timeConsolidated sleep time at night (i.e. the longest period of uninterrupted sleep between nocturnal sleep onset and final awakening)Sleep efficiency (i.e. % of time in bed at night spent asleep)Total wake time at night (or time spent awake after sleep onset)Number of nocturnal awakeningsSleep onset latency (i.e. time taken to fall asleep after going to bed)Ratio of daytime sleep to night‐time sleepRatio of night‐time sleep to total sleep over 24 hours.Adverse events as reported in the primary studies. This could include use of physical restraints or prescription of psychotropic medication.
primary outcome:
Pharmacological interventions for the treatment of disordered and problem gambling
Reduction in severity of gambling symptoms: assessed using standardised patient‐ or clinician‐rated measurement tools. These included the Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G‐SAS; Kim 2009), the Clinical Global Impression – Severity Scale (CGI‐S; Hollander 1998; Kim 2001b), the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; Lesieur 1987), and the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale adapted for Pathological Gambling (PG‐YBOCS; Pallanti 2005). When a study provided data on multiple measures, we only used one measure. We gave preference to multi‐item patient‐rated measures (e.g. G‐SAS), followed by multi‐item clinician‐rated measures (e.g. PG‐YBOCS) and single‐item clinician‐rated measures (e.g. CGI‐S).