Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of studies included in this meta-analysis.
| Study | Patient (L-C/control) | Age (mean, year) (L-C/control) | Male (N) (L-C/control) | L-C dose (g/day) | Follow-up duration | Ischemic cause (%) | NYHA class | LVEF (mean, %) (L-C/control) | Inclusion criteria | Endpoints |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gürlek 2000 | 51 (31/20) | 64.3/66.2 | 27/17 | 2 | 1 month | 100 | 3.21/3.32 | 37.8/41.5 | Ischemic cardiomyopathy | LVEF, red cell superoxide dismutase activity, adverse events |
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| Rizos 2000 | 80 (42/38) | 50/48 | 19/20 | 2 | Three years | 0 | III-IV | 27/29 | Dilated cardiomyopathy | Mortality, Weber classification, maximal time of cardiopulmonary exercise test, peak VO2 consumption, CO, adverse events |
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| Xi 2006 | 60 (30/30) | 63/63 | 18/16 | 3 | 14 days | 42 | III-IV | 33/34 | Chronic HF | Efficacy rated, SV, CO, CI, LVEF, E/A, NYHA class, adverse events |
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| Chen 2009 | 62 (31/31) | 68.5/70.8 | 20/22 | 3 | 10 days | 35 | III-IV | 34/33 | Chronic HF | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, LVEF, LVESD, LVESV |
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| Lin 2009 | 70 (35/35) | 43–78/42–76 | 18/19 | 3 | 20 weeks | 20 | III-IV | 35.6/36.7 | Chronic systolic HF, LVEF ≤ 40% | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, BNP, LVEF, LVEDD, LVESD, adverse events |
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| Serati 2010 | 60 (29/31) | 55/58 | 8/7 | 1.5 | 3 months | NA | II | NA | NYHA II, LVEF > 45%, mild diastolic dysfunction | Echocardiographic parameters (i.e., E, A, E′, E/A) |
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| Ding 2012 | 136 (68/68) | 75/74 | 41/40 | 2 | 14 days | NA | III-IV | 37/38 | Chronic congestive HF | Mortality, LVEDD, LVEF, NT-proBNP |
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| Cheng 2013 | 120 (60/60) | 57.9/70.1 | 34/36 | 3 | 15 days | 31 | III-IV | 34/35 | Chronic HF | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, LVEDD, LVESD, LVESV, LVEF, NT-proBNP, Scr, Cysc |
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| Pan 2014 | 86 (43/43) | 67.3/68.9 | 29/25 | 2 | 14 days | NA | NA | NA | Chronic HF | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, BNP, β-endorphin, adverse events |
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| Nishimura, 2015 | 72 (36/36) | 64.3/64.7 | 14/14 | 1 | 1 year | NA | IV | 52/53 | Chronic hemodialysis with HF needing hospitalization | Mortality, serum carnitine level, BNP, LVEF, E/A, LVMI, BMIPP |
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| Ding 2015 | 69 (35/34) | 64.2/64.5 | 25/23 | 3 | 14 days | 100 | II–IV | NA | Chronic HF, stable ischemic heart failure | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, NT-proBNP |
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| Gao 2015 | 136 (68/68) | 61–75/62–76 | 45/44 | 3 | 1 year | 100 | III-IV | 35.43/36.10 | Chronic HF, stable ischemic heart failure | Mortality, efficacy rated, NYHA class, NT-proBNP, 6-minute walk, LVEF, SV, CO, adverse events |
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| Ma 2015 | 72 (36/36) | 55.83/56.02 | 21/20 | 2 | 14 days | 25 | III-IV | 44.12/43.74 | Chronic HF, CRS | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, LVEF,SV,CO, E/A, Scr, BUN, Cysc, adverse events |
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| Zhang 2015 | 96 (48/48) | 45.9/47.2 | 33/34 | 3 | 7 days | 58.3 | III-IV | 37.3/36.2 | CRS without hemodialysis | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, LVEF, LVEDD, LVESD, Scr, BUN, adverse events |
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| Jing 2016 | 261 (133/128) | 51.9/52.4 | 84/70 | 6 | 7 days | NA | II–IV | 41.12/40.39 | Chronic HF, NYHA II-IV | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, LVEF, NT-proBNP, 6-minute walk, serum carnitine levels, adverse events |
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| Wu 2016 | 100 (50/50) | 74.22/73.70 | 26/28 | 2 | 15 days | NA | III-IV | 35/31.10 | Chronic HF with Diabetes | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, FPG, TC, LVEF, CO, E/A |
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| Zhang 2016 | 94 (47/47) | 56.3/58.3 | 27/29 | 3 | 15 days | NA | III-IV | NA | Chronic HF | Efficacy rated, NYHA class, LVEDD, LVESD, adverse events |
L-C: L-carnitine; HF: heart failure; SV: strike volume; CO: cardiac output; CI: cardiac index; BNP: brain natriuretic peptide; NT-proBNP: N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; LVEF: left ventricle ejection fraction; mitral E: peak velocity of the early filling wave of the transmitral flow; mitral A: peak velocity of the atrial filling wave of the transmitral flow; E/A: mitral E/A; LVEDD: left ventricular end-diastolic dimension; LVESD: left ventricular end-systolic dimension; LVESV: left ventricular end-systolic volume; LVMI: Left ventricular mass index; NYHA: New York Heart Association; CRS: cardiorenal syndrome; BMIPP: I-β-methyliodophenyl pentadecanoic acid; FPG: fasting blood glucose; TC: total cholesterol; Scr: serum creatinine; BUN: blood urea nitrogen; Cysc: cystatin c; NA: not available.