| Title |
Efficacy and side effects of intravenous theophylline in acute asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Drug Design, Development and Therapy, January 2018
|
| DOI | 10.2147/dddt.s156509 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Gulixian Mahemuti, Hui Zhang, Jing Li, Nueramina Tieliwaerdi, Lili Ren |
| Abstract |
Theophylline has been used for decades to treat both acute and chronic asthma. Despite its longevity in the practitioner's formulary, no detailed meta-analysis has been performed to determine the conditions, including concomitant medications, under which theophylline should be used for acute exacerbations of asthma. We aimed to quantify the usefulness and side effects of theophylline with or without ethylene diamine (aminophylline) in acute asthma, with particular emphasis on patient subgroups, such as children, adults, and concomitant medications. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO Clinical Trials Registry for randomized, controlled clinical trials. We planned a priori subgroup analyses by time post-medication, concomitant medication, control type, and age. We included 52 study arms from 42 individual trials. Of these, 29 study arms included an active control, such as adrenaline, beta-2 agonists, or leukotriene receptor antagonists, and 23 study arms compared theophylline (with or without ethylene diamine) with placebo or no drug. Theophylline significantly reduced heart rate when compared with active control (p=0.01) and overall duration of stay (p=0.002), but beta-2 agonists were superior to theophylline at improving forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (p=0.002). Theophylline was not significantly different from other drugs in its effects on respiratory rate, forced vital capacity (FVC), peak expiratory flow rate, admission rate, use of rescue medication, oxygen saturation, or symptom score. Closer examination of the data revealed that the medications given in addition to theophylline or control significantly changed the effectiveness of theophylline (subgroup difference: p<0.00001). Given the low cost of theophylline, and its similar efficacy and rate of side effects compared with other drugs, we suggest that theophylline, when given with bronchodilators with or without steroids, is a cost-effective and safe choice for acute asthma exacerbations. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 50% |
| Unknown | 1 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 107 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 107 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 21 | 20% |
| Researcher | 7 | 7% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 7 | 7% |
| Other | 7 | 7% |
| Lecturer | 5 | 5% |
| Other | 13 | 12% |
| Unknown | 47 | 44% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 28 | 26% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 12 | 11% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 3 | 3% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 3 | 3% |
| Unspecified | 2 | 2% |
| Other | 9 | 8% |
| Unknown | 50 | 47% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 22 March 2024.
All research outputs
#7,208,166
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Drug Design, Development and Therapy
#467
of 2,268 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#134,680
of 449,550 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Drug Design, Development and Therapy
#13
of 38 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 71st percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,268 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.1. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 449,550 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 69% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 38 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its contemporaries.