Objective To assess the efficacy of medical expulsive therapy for ureteral calculi with tamsulosin. Methods We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) Database, The Cochrane Library and Chinese Journal Full-text Database from 1995 to September 2006, as well as the proceedings of urological scientific conferences from 2000 to 2006. Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) comparing tamsulosin and other therapies for ureteral calculi among adults were included. Data were extracted by two reviewers independently and synthesized by STATA 9.0 software. Results A total of 16 studies involving 1521 patients with distal or juxtavesical ureteral calculi were included. Compared with conservative therapy, tamsulosin showed higher expulsion rate [RR 1.50, 95%CI (1.20 to 1.87), Plt;0.0001], shorter expulsion time [SMD –1.29, 95%CI (–2.27, –0.31)] and fewer patients requiring ESWL or ureteroscopy [RR 0.40, 95%CI (0.27, 0.59), Plt;0.05]. Compared with conservative therapy, the combination of tamsulosin plus deflazacort also showed higher expulsion rate [RR 1.59, 95%CI (1.31, 1.93)], shorter expulsion time [SMD –0.8, 95%CI (–1.18, –0.42)] and fewer patients requiring ESWL or ureteroscopy [RR 0.13, 95%CI (0.06, 0.31), Plt;0.05]. Compared with deflazacort alone, the combination of tamsulosin plus deflazacort demonstrated similar expulsion rate [RR 1.31, 95%CI (0.78, 2.23), P=0.31], but significantly reduced the dosage of analgesics [SMD 15.20, 95%CI (14.98, 15.52)] and decreased the proportion of patients requiring ESWL or ureteroscopy [RR 0.09,, 95%CI (0.02, 0.47), Plt;0.05]. Compared with deflazacort plus nifedipine, the combination of tamsulosin plus deflazacort showed higher expulsion rate [RR 1.20, 95%CI (1.07, 1.35), P=0.002], but similar expulsion time [SMD –1.34, 95%CI (–3.47, 0.79)] and proportion of patients requiring ESWL or ureteroscopy [RR 0.34, 95%CI (0.05, 2.22), Pgt;0.05]. As for side effects, tamsulosin-based treatment and conservative therapy were comparable (Pgt;0.05). Conclusions Tamsulosin has a beneficial effect on the expulsion of ureteral calculi, especially for distal and juxtavesical ureteral calculi. Tamsulosin-based medical expulsive therapy at the dosage of 0.4mg daily is effective and safe for patients with distal ureteral calculi. More large-scale studies are required to define the efficacy of combination therapy of tamsulosin plus deflazacort.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of terazosin, tamsulosin and finasteride for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods We searched the related original studies all over the world, and only included randomized controlled trials (RCT) and quasi-randomized controlled trials (CCT). MEDLINE (1966 to Dec. 2004), EMBASE (1984 to Dec. 2004), The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2004) and four Chinese databases were electronically searched and 10 related journals were handsearched. The studies included in the references of eligible studies were additionally searched. Two reviewers independently screened the studies for eligibility, evaluated the quality and extracted the data from the eligible studies, with confirmation by cross-checking. Divergences of opinion were consulted by a third party. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 4.2 software. Results Twelve original studies involving 2 471 participants met inclusion criteria. Compared with terazosin, tamsulosin could improve international prostatic symptom score, with WMD 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03 to 1.46, P=0.04. There was no statistical difference between terazosin and tamsulosin in improving the average rate of urine flow (WMD 0.23, 95%CI -0.39 to 0.85, P=0.46), the residual urine volume (WMD 0.82, 95%CI -2.92 to 4.57, P=0.67) and in diminishing the volume of prostate (WMD 2.20, 95%CI -3.99 to 8.39, P=0.49). There was no statistical difference between finasteride and tamsulosin in improving the international prostatic symptom score (WMD 0.65, 95%CI -0.45 to 1.75, P=0.25) or the max rate of urine flow (WMD 0.39, 95%CI -0.72 to 1.51, P=0.49). Only two studies compared finasteride with terazosin and had different conclusions. Only one study compared finasteride or terazosin with a combination of these drugs suggested that the combination had higher effective power than finasteride alone but no difference with terazosin alone. Conclusions Although the effectiveness in some aspects is higher in the tamsulosin group, there is not enough evidence to show which one is the best among these three drugs. The combination of finasteride and terazosin does not show more effectiveness than terazosin alone. This review suggests that tamsulosin alone should be used for the treatment of BPH and the combination needs to be identified by better evidence. It is important to improve the quality of original studies.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of doxazosin for ureterolithiasis.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of comparing doxazosin with conservative treatment or tamsulosin for ureterolithiasis from inception to October, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, RevMan 5.3 software was used to perform meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 15 RCTs involving 1 062 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: compared with conservative treatment, doxazosin significantly facilitated ureteral stone expulsion (RR=1.62, 95%CI 1.45 to 1.81, P<0.000 01). No statistical significant difference was found in stone-free rate (RR=0.96, 95%CI 0.83 to 1.11, P=0.57), stone expulsion time (SMD=−0.17, 95%CI −0.52 to 0.19, P=0.35) or pain episode frequency (SMD=0.21, 95%CI −0.15 to 0.56, P=0.25) between doxazosin and tamsulosin. Treatment-associated serious side effects were rarely reported.ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that doxazosin is an efficient and safe medical expulsion agent for ureterolithiasis management. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.