What are the best Salvia miltiorrhiza injection classes for treatment of unstable angina pectoris? A systematic review and network Meta-analysis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To undertake a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the effectiveness among the different regimens of Salvia miltiorrhiza injection classes (SMICs) for unstable angina pectoris (UAP) treatment.

METHODS

A systematic retrieval was conducted in several literature databases to identify randomized controlled trials focusing on the different regimens of SMICs for UAP treatment until January 2016. The quality assessment was accomplished according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Pair-wise meta-analyses were carried out by RevMan 5.3. A random-effects model of NMA was used to compare the different regimens of SMICs with regard to efficacy by STATA 13.0.

RESULTS

A total of 111 studies involving 10 500 patients were included in the NMA. The methodological quality of included studies was not high. Current evidence shows that salvianolate (SI) is the optimal treatment for UAP in improving the total efficacy against UAP. Guanxingning (GXN) is the optimal treatment for UAP for improving the total effectiveness of electrocardiography.

CONCLUSION

SMICs have advantages in preventing cardiovascular events. GXN, SI, and Danhong had the greatest probability of being the best treatment in the total efficacy against UAP and for improving the total effectiveness of electrocardiography.