SynthesisRespiratory research2021
The effect of additional antimicrobial therapy on the outcomes of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Respiratory research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sputum lautropia is decreased in rheumatoid arthritis-associated pulmonary fibrosis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2026Article
- Outcomes ofJGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Article
- Does "all disease begin in the gut"? The gut-organ cross talk in the microbiome.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2024Review
- Effect ofInternational journal of molecular and cellular medicine · 2023Article
- Towards Treatable Traits for Pulmonary Fibrosis.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe effect of additional antimicrobial agents on the clinical outcomes of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is unclear.
methodsWe performed comprehensive searches of randomized control trials (RCTs) that compared the clinical efficacy of additional antimicrobial agents to those of placebo or usual care in the treatment of IPF patients. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcomes were changes in forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and the risk of adverse events (AEs).
resultsFour RCTs including a total of 1055 patients (528 receiving additional antibiotics and 527 receiving placebo or usual care) were included in this meta-analysis. Among the study group, 402 and 126 patients received co-trimoxazole and doxycycline, respectively. The all-cause mortality rates were 15.0% (79/528) and 14.0% (74/527) in the patients who did and did not receive additional antibiotics, respectively (odds ratio [OR] 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76 to 1.51; p = 0.71). No significant difference was observed in the changes in FVC (mean difference [MD], 0.01; 95% CI - 0.03 to 0.05; p = 0.56) and DLCO (MD, 0.05; 95% CI - 0.17 to 0.28; p = 0.65). Additional use of antimicrobial agents was also associated with an increased risk of AEs (OR 1.65; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.27; p = 0.002), especially gastrointestinal disorders (OR 1.54; 95% CI 1.10 to 2.15; p = 0.001).
conclusionsIn patients with IPF, adding antimicrobial therapy to usual care did not improve mortality or lung function decline but increased gastrointestinal toxicity.
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Registered trials
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