SynthesisRespiratory research2021
Beta-blocker therapy in patients with COPD: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis with multiple treatment comparison.
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 24 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bisoprolol for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at high risk of exacerbation: the BICS RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Trial
- Association between β-blocker use and outcomes in patients with heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Outcomes of beta-blocker use in people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a co-existent beta-blocker indicated cardiovascular disease. Insights from a global federated network.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Observational
- Acute effects of low-dose bisoprolol on lung function and blood pressure in COPD patients.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Beyond the Lungs: A Narrative Review of Cardiopulmonary Risk Reduction and Management Perspectives in Thai COPD Patients.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Review
- Heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A combination not to be underestimated.Heart failure reviews · 2025Review
- Review
- The Complex Relationship Between Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- An approach to heart failure for the public-sector primary care clinician.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2025Article
- Observational
- Chinese Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension (2024 revision).Journal of geriatric cardiology : JGC · 2025Article
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Adverse Event Signals Associated with Potential Inhibitors of Glutathione Peroxidase 1: A Sequence Symmetry Analysis.Drug safety · 2024Article
- Extrapulmonary Comorbidities Associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Review.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2024Review
- Current Perspectives of Pharmacotherapies for COPD.Respiratory care · 2023Article
- Application of an Integrative Drug Safety Model for Detection of Adverse Drug Events Associated With Inhibition of Glutathione Peroxidase 1 in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Pharmaceutical research · 2023Article
- Pharmacological therapy for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Chronic diseases and translational medicine · 2023Review
- Article
- Cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic airway diseases: mutual pharmacological interferences.Therapeutic advances in chronic disease · 2023Review
- Therapeutic Approaches for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Exacerbations.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Management of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.Heart (British Cardiac Society) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBeta-blockers are associated with reduced mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease but are often under prescribed in those with concomitant COPD, due to concerns regarding respiratory side-effects. We investigated the effects of beta-blockers on outcomes in patients with COPD and explored within-class differences between different agents.
methodsWe searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Medline for observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of beta-blocker exposure versus no exposure or placebo, in patients with COPD, with and without cardiovascular indications. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the association of beta-blocker therapy with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD), and a network meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of individual beta-blockers on FEV1. Mortality, all-cause hospitalization, and quality of life outcomes were narratively synthesized.
resultsWe included 23 observational studies and 14 RCTs. In pooled observational data, beta-blocker therapy was associated with an overall reduced risk of AECOPD versus no therapy (HR 0.77, 95%CI 0.70 to 0.85). Among individual beta-blockers, only propranolol was associated with a relative reduction in FEV1 versus placebo, among 199 patients evaluated in RCTs. Narrative syntheses on mortality, all-cause hospitalization and quality of life outcomes indicated a high degree of heterogeneity in study design and patient characteristics but suggested no detrimental effects of beta-blocker therapy on these outcomes.
conclusionThe class effect of beta-blockers remains generally positive in patients with COPD. Reduced rates of AECOPD, mortality, and improved quality of life were identified in observational studies, while propranolol was the only agent associated with a deterioration of lung function in RCTs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.