Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32187604›Full record

SynthesisInternational archives of allergy and immunology2020

Effectiveness of the Air Purification Strategies for the Treatment of Allergic Asthma: A Meta-Analysis.

Frank E van Boven, Nicolette W de Jong, Gert Jan Braunstahl, Lidia R Arends, Roy Gerth van Wijk

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International archives of allergy and immunology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Targeting Pollutants in the Treatment and Prevention of Atopic Dermatitis.Immunology and allergy clinics of North America · 2025
    Review
  3. Indoor bioaerosols and asthma: Overview, implications, and mitigation strategies.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Small Airway Anatomy: An Indicator of Pollution Susceptibility in Adults?American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2022
    Article
  8. Article
  9. 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

5 authors.

Frank E van BovenDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, f.vanboven5@gmail.com.
Nicolette W de JongDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Gert Jan BraunstahlDepartment of Pulmonology, Franciscus Gasthuis and Vlietland, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Lidia R ArendsDepartment of Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Roy Gerth van WijkDepartment of Internal Medicine, Section of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We updated the meta-analysis published by McDonald et al. [Chest 2002;122;1535-1542] by reviewing the effectiveness of air purification for the treatment of home-related allergic asthma (dust mite, dog, cat, and cockroach). We analysed the trials included by McDonald et al. as well as studies published since 2000. Data on asthma symptoms scores (ASS), medication use, forced expiratory volume in 1 s as a percentage of the predicted value (FEV1 %pred), histamine provocative concentration causing a 20% reduction in FEV1 (PC20), Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) scores, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels were extracted. The effectiveness was examined using metafor (registered in Prospero CRD42019127227). Ten trials including a total of 482 patients (baseline characteristics: mean FEV1 %pred 83.2%, I2 = 96.7%; mean PC20 4.93 mg/mL, I2 = 44.0%; mean AQLQ 4.67 [max. 7], I2 = 93.7%; mean FeNO 36.5 ppb, I2 = 0%) were included. We assessed the mean differences in the AQLQ scores as +0.36 (95% CI 0.10 to 0.62, p = 0.01, n = 302, I2 = 0%) and the FeNO levels as -6.67 ppb (95% CI -10.56 to -2.77, p = 0.0008, n = 304, I2 = 0%). The standardised mean differences in all other health outcomes were not significant (ASS -0.68, p = 0.20; medication use: -0.01, p = 0.94; FEV1 %pred -0.11, p = 0.34; PC20 +0.24, p = 0.53). We found statistically significant mean differences in the AQLQ scores and FeNO levels in patients with predominantly mild to moderate asthma at baseline. A large trial reported great improvement in the subgroup of patients receiving Global Initiative for Asthma step 4 therapy. We recommend that future studies on air purification focus on patients with severe and poorly controlled allergic asthma.

Indexed as

Air FiltersAir Pollution, IndoorAsthmaFemaleHumansHypersensitivityMaleAir purificationAllergyAsthmaMeta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID32187604
PMCPMC7265772

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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 Socratic graph.