Mucolytic drugs v placebo for chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease*
| Weighted mean | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcomes at mean 6 months | Mucolytics | Placebo | Weighted mean difference (95% CI)† | |
| Number of exacerbations per patient per month | 0.09 | 0.16 | 0.07 (0.05 to 0.08) | |
| Days of illness | 0.75 | 1.31 | 0.56 (0.35 to 0.77) | |
| Days of antibiotic use | 0.67 | 1.20 | 0.53 (0.31 to 0.76) | |
| Weighted event rates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mucolytics | Placebo | RBI (CI) | NNT (CI) | |
| *Abbreviations defined in glossary; weighted mean, RBI, NNT, and CI calculated from data in article. | ||||
| †All differences favour the mucolytic group. | ||||
| Patients with no exacerbations | 60% | 42% | 43% (34 to 52) | 6 (5 to 7) |