| Study | Reason for exclusion |
|---|---|
| Abdelrahim 2011 | Non‐invasive ventilation setting and no pMDI or DPI was used as comparator |
| Bai 1993 | Mechanical ventilation setting |
| Broeders 2004 | No nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Brunetti 2015 | No pMDI or DPI was used as comparator |
| Carpenter 2008 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Cazzola 2002a | No nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Cazzola 2002b | No nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Chu 1989 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Dhand 2002 | No abstract or full‐text available. Prof Dhand informed us that this trial was performed in stable state |
| Duarte 2000 | Mechanical ventilation setting |
| Finnerty 1999 | No abstract or full‐text available; authors could not be reached |
| Foresi 2002 | No full‐text available; authors could not be reached. Based on FEV1/FVC ratio, not all participants had COPD and reported stable state only |
| Formgren 1994 | No nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Greene 1988 | Combination of asthma and COPD exacerbations. No results for COPD were reported |
| Guerin 1999 | Mechanical ventilation setting |
| Haynes 2012 | No pMDI or DPI was used as comparator |
| Ikeda 1994 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Jasper 1987 | Combination of asthma and COPD exacerbations. Insufficient results for COPD were reported |
| Kaminski 1997 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Lai 1990 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Lees 1980 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Li 2011 | No full‐text available; authors could not be reached |
| Mandelberg 1997 | Combination of asthma and COPD exacerbations. No separate results for COPD were reported |
| Marlin 1986 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Marta 1997 | Stable state, combination of asthma and COPD |
| Martos 1990 | No full‐text available; authors could not be reached |
| Mestitz 1988 | Trial was performed in stable state only. Combination of asthma and COPD |
| Mouloudi 1998 | Non‐invasive ventilation setting and no nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Nair 2005 | No pMDI or DPI was used as comparator |
| Numata 2002 | The trial lacked specific data for the nebuliser group. We contacted Prof Schwartzman; however the raw data has been lost. |
| Pappalettera 2005 | No full‐text available; authors could not be reached |
| Petrova 2001 | No full‐text available; authors could not be reached |
| Qian 2008 | No pMDI or DPI was used as comparator |
| Quinn 2014 | Trial was performed in stable state only, no nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Rebuck 1987 | No pMDI or DPI was used as comparator |
| Schleufe 2004 | No nebuliser was used as comparator |
| Segreti 2013 | Different types of bronchodilators used |
| Summer 1989 | Combination of asthma and COPD exacerbations. No results for COPD were reported |
| Willaert 2002 | Different types of bronchodilators used |
| Wisthal 1997 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
| Wu 2012 | Mechanical ventilation setting |
| Zanen 1997 | Trial was performed in stable state only |
COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DPI: dry powder inhaler; FEV1 : forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity; pMDI: pressurised metered‐dose inhaler