Table 1.
Characteristics of randomized controlled trials
| First author | Bart | Bart | Hanna | Giglioli | Seker | Costanzo | Marenzi | Costanzo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2005 | 2012 | 2012 | 2011 | 2016 | 2007 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Country | USA | USA | USA | Italy | Turkey | USA | Italy | USA |
| Trial | RAPID-CHF | CARRESS | ULTRADISCO | UNLOAD | CUORE | AVOID-HF | ||
| Study design | RCT | RCT | RCT | RCT | RCT | RCT | RCT | RCT |
| Reference | 16 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 18 |
| Sample size | 40 | 188 | 36 | 30 | 30 | 200 | 56 | 221 |
| Intervention group size | 20 | 94 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 100 | 27 | 110 |
| Control group size | 20 | 94 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 100 | 29 | 111 |
| Age (years) in UF group | 67.5 | 66 | 60 | 72.4 | 66.5 | 62 | 75 | 67 |
| Age (years) in UC group | 69.5 | 69 | 59 | 65.8 | 66.8 | 63 | 73 | 67 |
| Male (%) in UF group | 70 | 72 | 84.2 | 87 | 60 | 70 | 81 | 69.1 |
| Male (%) in UC group | 70 | 78 | 76 | 87 | 65 | 68 | 83 | 73 |
| Comorbidities | ||||||||
| Hypertension (%) in UF group | 60 | 42.1 | 20 | 100 | 74 | 48 | 88.2 | |
| Hypertension (%) in UC group | 65 | 52.9 | 60 | 85 | 74 | 66 | 83 | |
| DM (%) in UF group | 35 | 67 | 36.8 | 40 | 60 | 50 | 59 | 61.8 |
| DM (%) in UC group | 53 | 65 | 29.4 | 60 | 50 | 50 | 45 | 64 |
| Medication | ||||||||
| ACE/ARB (%) in UF group | 70 | 52 | 86.7 | 63 | 74 | 38.2 | ||
| ACE/ARB (%) in UC group | 70 | 55 | 80 | 68 | 66 | 43.2 | ||
| Beta blocker (%) in UF group | 75 | 78 | 66.7 | 65 | 74 | 52.7 | ||
| Beta blocker (%) in UC group | 65 | 79 | 73.3 | 66 | 76 | 57.7 | ||
| Furosemide or equivalents (%) in UF group | 65 | 96 | 100 | 72 | 100 | |||
| Furosemide or equivalents (%) in UC group | 95 | 91 | 100 | 77 | 97 | |||
| UF – ultrafiltration, UC – usual care, DM – diabetes mellitus, ACE – angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, ARB – angiotensin II receptor blocker, HF – heart failure | ||||||||