Table 1.

Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis

Author	Year	Country	Study design	No. arms	No. patients	Mean age (years)	Men (%)	DM (%)	Mean GFR	Mean baseline serum bicarbonate (mEq/L)	Control arm	Akali arm	Alkali dose	Duration of intervention	Study quality#
Short-term studies (≤ 7 days)
Husted	1977	USA	XO	2	6	56	67	0	13 mL/min	21.4	Sodium chloride	Sodium bicarbonate (+ sodium chloride)	101 mEq/day	4 days	1
Passfall	1997	Germany	XO	2	11	62	55	18	13 mL/min	20.3	Sodium bicarbonate (10 mEq/day)	Sodium bicarbonate	95 mEq/day	7 days	2
Long-term studies (≥ 2 months)
Mathur	2006	India	Parallel	2	40	41	63	NR	NR	19.4	Glucose	Sodium bicarbonate	90–180 mEq/day	3 months	1
de Brito-Ashurst	2009	UK	Parallel	2	134	55	52	37	20 mL/min/ 1.73 m2	19.9	Standard care*	Sodium bicarbonate	Average of 22 ± 10 mEq/day	24 months	3
Mahajan	2010	USA	Parallel	2	80	51	48	NR	75 mL/min/ 1.73 m2	26.3	Sodium chloride	Sodium bicarbonate	0.5 mEq/kg/day	60 months	4
Disthabanchong	2010	Thailand	Parallel	2	41	63	51	49	19 mL/min/ 1.73 m2	20.9	Standard care*	Sodium bicarbonate	21–43 mEq/day	2–3 months	2

XO denotes randomized cross over trial; Parallel denotes parallel-design randomized controlled trial; NR, not reported;

^*standard care was defined as regular follow up in pre-dialysis clinics.

^#Jadad scores, ranging from 0–5, with 5 best.