Efficacy and safety of ACEI plus tanshinone for acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease: a meta-analysis.

Acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease (AECPHD) is life-threatening. Conventional therapy plus angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) is not always practical. Recent trials have suggested the beneficial effects of the combination of ACEI and tanshinone on AECPHD. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate its efficacy and safety by meta-analysis systematically. The result indicated that combination of ACEI and tanshinone was more effective than ACEI monotherapy in AECPHD, as represented by treatment efficiency and mean pulmonary arterial pressure, PaCO2, and PaO2. However, the incidence of adverse events of combined therapy was higher than the control group, while the result of the analysis for adverse events was unstable. Further large-scale, multicenter, and rigorously designed randomized controlled trials (RCT) are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]