Table 6.
Grading the evidence: primary outcomes
| Quality assessment | № of patients | Relative effect | Quality | Importance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| № of studies | Study design | Risk of bias | Inconsistency | Indirectness | Imprecision | Other considerations | Indapamide | Bendroflumethiazide | (95% CI) | ||
| All deaths (follow‐up: range 1.5–5.5 years) | |||||||||||
| 3 | Randomized trials | Not serious | Not serious | Very serious | Not serious | None | 1933 | 4355 | RR 0.82 (0.57, 1.18) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
| Cardiovascular deaths (follow‐up: range 2–5.5 years) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Randomized trials | Not serious | Not serious | Very serious | Not serious | None | 1933 | 4297 | RR 0.82 (0.56, 1.20) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
| Noncardiovascular deaths (follow‐up: range 2–5.5 years) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Randomized trials | Not serious | Not serious | Very serious | Not serious | None | 1933 | 4297 | RR 0.81 (0.54, 1.22) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
| Stroke (follow‐up: range 2–5.5 years) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Randomized trials | Not serious | Not serious | Very serious | Not serious | None | 1933 | 4297 | RR 2.21 (1.19, 4.11) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
| Coronary events (follow‐up: range 1.5–5.5 years) | |||||||||||
| 3 | Randomized trials | Not serious | Not serious | Very serious | Not serious | None | 1933 | 4355 | RR 0.73 (0.30, 1.79) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | CRITICAL |
| All cardiovascular events (follow‐up: range 2–5.5 years) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Randomized trials | Not serious | Not serious | Very serious | Not serious | None | 1933 | 4297 | RR 0.89 (0.67, 1.18) | ⨁⨁◯◯ LOW | IMPORTANT |
CI, confidence interval; RR, risk ratio