Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15707484›Full record

SynthesisBMC pulmonary medicine2005

Effects of inhaled corticosteroids on sputum cell counts in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and a meta-analysis.

Wen Qi Gan, S F Paul Man, Don D Sin

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC pulmonary medicine, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
6.6field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Inhaled corticosteroids for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Review
  7. Induced sputum: current progress and prospect.European journal of medical research · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Inhaled Corticosteroids in COPD: Trying to Make a Long Story Short.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2020
    Review
  10. Inhaled corticosteroids in COPD: Personalising the therapeutic choice.African journal of thoracic and critical care medicine · 2018
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Future therapeutic treatment of COPD: struggle between oxidants and cytokines.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2007
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Wen Qi GanJames Hogg iCAPTURE Center for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, St, Paul's Hospital and the Department of Medicine (Pulmonary Division), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. wgan@mrl.ubc.ca <wgan@mrl.ubc.ca>
S F Paul Man
Don D Sin
University of British Columbia · CASt. Paul's Hospital · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhether inhaled corticosteroids suppress airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains controversial. We sought to determine the effects of inhaled corticosteroids on sputum indices of inflammation in stable COPD.

methodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Databases for randomized, controlled clinical trials that used induced sputum to evaluate the effect of inhaled corticosteroids in stable COPD. For each chosen study, we calculated the mean differences in the concentrations of sputum cells before and after treatment in both intervention and control groups. These values were then converted into standardized mean differences to accommodate the differences in patient selection, clinical treatment, and biochemical procedures that were employed across original studies. If significant heterogeneity was present (p < 0.10), then a random effects model was used to pool the original data. In the absence of significant heterogeneity, a fixed effects model was used.

resultsWe identified six original studies that met the inclusion criteria (N = 162 participants). In studies with higher cumulative dose (>or= 60 mg) or longer duration of therapy (>or= 6 weeks), inhaled corticosteroids were uniformly effective in reducing the total cell, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts. In contrast, studies with lower cumulative dose (< 60 mg) or shorter duration of therapy (< 6 weeks) did not demonstrate a favorable effect of inhaled corticosteroids on these sputum indices.

conclusionsOur study suggests that prolonged therapy with inhaled corticosteroids is effective in reducing airway inflammation in stable COPD.

Indexed as

Administration, InhalationAdrenal Cortex HormonesHumansInflammationPulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSputumTreatment OutcomeAdrenal Cortex Hormones

Identifiers

PMID15707484
PMCPMC552309
OpenAlexW1596920894

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.