Table 3 Quality of evidence.

CER

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^E

N

509/536

(95%)

416/534

(77.9%)

OR 5.44 (3.51 to 8.43)

171 more per 1000 (from 146 to 188 more)

⊕⊕OO

14 studies

Low

FEV1/FVC

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^{B, E}

Serious^C

150

150

–

MD 2.51 higher (-0.05 lower to 5.06 higher)

⊕OOO

4 studies

Very low

FEV1%

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^{D, E}

N

398

396

–

MD 16.18 higher (12.6 to 19.76 higher)

⊕OOO

10 studies

Very low

PaO₂

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^E

N

284

282

–

MD 1.12 higher (0.87 to 1.36 higher)

⊕⊕OO

7 studies

Low

PaCO₂

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^E

N

284

282

–

MD 1.43 lower (1.65 to 1.21 lower)

⊕⊕OO

7 studies

Low

FEV1

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^B

N

176

174

–

MD 0.3 higher (0.18 to 0.42 higher)

⊕⊕OO

5 studies

Low

FVC

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^E

N

212

210

–

MD 0.33 higher (0.21 to 0.45 higher)

⊕⊕OO

5 studies

Low

Hemoglobin

RCT

Serious^A

NS

NS

Serious^{B, E}

N

133

131

MD 16.17 lower (20.84 to 11.51 lower)

⊕OOO

3 studies

Very low