Cochrane · systematic review · CD001287

Mucolytic agents versus placebo for chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Poole, P, Sathananthan, K, Fortescue, R · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2019 · Cochrane Library

Airways3 versionsAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
8
current version
GRADE rated
7
No studies
1
Included studies
NR
No studies 1 · 12.5%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 0 · 0%Low 0 · 0%Moderate 7 · 87.5%High 0 · 0%

Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.

Questions and results

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Mucolytic compared to placebo for chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Population: chronic bronchitis or COPD
8 questions
OutcomeEffectEvidenceStatus / GRADE
Outcomes*
Mucolytic vs placebo
no estimate extractedNRNo studies
Participants with no exacerbations in study period
Mucolytic vs placebo
Peto OR 1.73 [1.56, 1.91]28 studies · 6723 participantsModerate
Downgraded: inconsistency
Days of disability per participant per month
Mucolytic vs placebo
no estimate extracted9 studies · 2259 participantsModerate
Downgraded: inconsistency
Health‐related quality of life (total score SGRQ) Scale from 1 to 100; lower scores indicate better quality of life
Mucolytic vs placebo
no estimate extracted7 studies · 2721 participantsModerate
Downgraded: inconsistency
Hospitalisation during study period
Mucolytic vs placebo
Peto OR 0.68 [0.52, 0.89]5 studies · 1833 participantsModerate
Downgraded: inconsistency
FEV₁at end of study
Mucolytic vs placebo
no estimate extracted14 studies · 3473 participantsModerate
Downgraded: inconsistency
Adverse effects
Mucolytic vs placebo
Peto OR 0.84 [0.74, 0.94]24 studies · 7264 participantsModerate
Downgraded: inconsistency
Death during study period
Mucolytic vs placebo
Peto OR 0.98 [0.51, 1.87]11 studies · 3527 participantsModerate
Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency, publication bias