Table 2.
A summary of the main findings for exacerbations.
| Author (year) sample size | Type of exacerbation reported | Group allocation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention | Control | ||
| Liu (2008) Intervention N = 24, Control N = 24 | Managed in the community, N; p = NS | F: N = 4 | F: N = 26 | 
| Leading to hospitalization, N; p = NS | F: N = 2 | F: N = 22 | |
| Halpin (2011) Intervention N = 40, Control N = 39 | Clinical exacerbation frequency, mean (SD); p = NS | F: 0.95 (1.71) | F: 1.17 (1.81) | 
| Chau (2012) Intervention N = 22, Control N = 18 | Managed in the community, N; p = NS | F: N = 7 | F: N = 3 | 
| Leading to hospitalization, mean (SD) or N; p = NS | B: 2.41 (1.57) F: N = 7 | B: 2.89 (2.32) F: N = 3 | |
| Pinnock (2013) Intervention N = 8, Control N = 8 | Leading to hospitalization, mean (SD); p = NS | F: 1.5 (2.3) | F: 1.3 (1.8) | 
| Managed in the community, mean (SD); p = NS | F: 15 (12.7) | F: 12.8 (11.8) | |
| Farmer (2017) Intervention N = 110, Control N = 56 | Unspecified, median (IQR); p = NS | F: 1 (0–2) | F: 1 (0–3) | 
B baseline, F follow-up, IQR interquartile range, N number of participants, NS nonsignificant, SD standard deviation.