Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Case series were included.
Specific interventions included in the review
Nifedipine (30 to more than 200 mg/day).
Participants included in the review
Patients with the following illnesses were included in the analysis:
pulmonary hypertension secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; primary pulmonary hypertension; clinically-stable cor pulmonale; primary pulmonary hypertension and New York Heart Association functional class 3 symptoms; primary pulmonary hypertension secondary to diffuse systemic sclerosis; crest syndrome; and mixed connective tissue disease.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Effect size in terms of the post-treatment and pre-treatment mean PAP.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the authors performed the selection. The included studies had to meet the following inclusion criteria: have at least 5 patients; measure pre-therapy and post-therapy PAPs; have a long-term study component; and have nifedipine as the predominant drug in the trial.