Zhang MZ, et al. - Researchers performed this examination to investigate the clinical impacts of statin therapy on patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) secondary to lung diseases. They suggested that statins might be harmless and useful for patients with PH due to chronic lung diseases.

Methods

• For this study, electronic databases and manual bibliographical searches were conducted.
• Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of no less than 3 months that assessed statin therapy as compared with control in adult patients with PH due to pulmonary diseases.
• Using random-effect model, statistical analyses were performed to calculate mean difference, relative risks (RRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

• A sum of 6 RCTs were recognized and incorporated in this examination.
• 5 trials revealed the impacts of statins in patients with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and PH, and the remaining 1 was based on PH due to pneumoconiosis.
• Statin therapy was related to increased 6-minute walk distance and decreased pulmonary artery systolic pressure.
• No difference was observed in the incidence of death, drug withdrawal, and adverse event between statin and control group.