The safety of endothelin receptor antagonists in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension: Protocol for a systemic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease and ultimately leads to right heart failure. Endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) have been demonstrated to significantly improve prognosis in PAH. However, ERAs-induced side effects can result in poor patient tolerance. Thus, we aim to evaluate current safety evidence of ERAs in PAH. METHODS: An electronic search will be performed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported the interested safety data (abnormal liver function, peripheral edema, and anemia) of ERAs in PAH. Risk ratios (RRs) with their confidence intervals (CIs) and the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) will be calculated using a network analysis. RESULTS: This study will provide the safety evidence of ERAs in PAH by combining the results of individual studies based on direct- and network comparison, and to rank ERAs in the evidence network. CONCLUSIONS: The results will supplement missing evidence of head-to-head comparisons between different ERAs and guide both clinical decision-making and future research.