Comparative assessment of efficacy and safety of ambrisentan and bosentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: A meta-analysis

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Two endothelin receptor antagonists, ambrisentan and bosentan, have been demonstrated to be effective individually compared with placebo in the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This network meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of ambrisentan and bosentan in patients with PAH.

METHODS

Clinical trials were identified from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL/CCTR), EMBASE and PubMed databases. Weighted mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for continuous outcomes (6-min walk distance [6MWD] and Borg dyspnoea index [BDI]). Hazard ratio (HR) was calculated for binary outcomes, including clinical worsening, discontinuation due to adverse events (AEs) and liver dysfunction. Surface under cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to rank the treatments in each index.

RESULTS

Five clinical trials from four published studies (total patients: n = 920) were included. Ambrisentan and bosentan showed no significant difference in 6MWD (MD: -1.32; 95% CI: -27.87, 25.31, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.73, bosentan 0.77), BDI (MD: -0.16; 95% CI: -0.98, 0.65, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.83, bosentan 0.66), clinical worsening (HR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.33, 2.94, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.75, bosentan 0.74) and discontinuation due to AEs (HR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.11, 5.86, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.47, bosentan 0.57). However, ambrisentan was significantly better than bosentan with respect to abnormal liver function (HR: 23.18; 95% CI: 2.24, 377.20, SUCRA score: ambrisentan 0.99, bosentan 0.02).

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

The results of this network meta-analysis suggest that ambrisentan was similar to bosentan in efficacy, while it exhibited better tolerability with respect to abnormal liver function in comparison with bosentan, in patients with PAH.

The efficiency of endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan for pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Oral bosentan has been widely applied in pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease (PAH-CHD). A systemic review and meta-analysis was conducted for a therapeutic evaluation of oral bosentan in both adult and pediatric patients with PAH-CHD. The acute responses and a long-term effect were respectively assessed in a comparison with baseline characteristics, and the improvement of exercise tolerance was analyzed.

METHODS

PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of clinical controlled trails or observational studies have been searched for a recording of bosentan effects on the PAH-CHD participants. For mortality and rate of adverse events (AEs), it was described in detail. Randomized-effects model or fixed-effects model was used to calculate different effective values with a sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies were pooled in this review, and 3 studies enrolled the pediatric patients. Among all studies, 456 patients were diagnosed with PAH-CHD, and 91.7% were treated with oral bosentan. With a term less than 6 months of bosentan therapy, there existed a significant improvement in 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) and the World Health Organization functional class (WHO-FC), but no such differences in Borg dyspnea index scores (BDIs) and the resting oxygen saturation (SpO2). Although with a prolonged treatment, not only 6MWD and FC, but also the resting SpO2 and heart rate were changed for a better exercise capability. Additionally, compared with the basic cardiopulmonary hemodynamics, it showed a statistically significant difference in mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance index (PVRi). Although a limitation of pooled studies with comparative outcomes of different terms, outcomes presented a lower WHO-FC which contributes to a success in a prolonged treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Bosentan in PAH-CHD is well established and still requires clinical trials for an identification of its efficiency on CHD patients for an optimized period lessening a serious complication and the common AEs.