title: Macrolides for diffuse panbronchiolitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a chronic airways disease predominantly affecting East Asians. Macrolides, a class of antibiotics, have been used as the main treatment for DPB, based on evidence from retrospective and non-randomised studies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy and safety of macrolides for DPB.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2010, issue 1), which contains the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1966 to April 2010), EMBASE (1974 to April 2010), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) (1978 to April 2010), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1974 to April 2010), KoreaMed (1997 to April 2010) and Database of Japana Centra Revuo Medicina (1983 to April 2010).
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-RCTs assessing the effect of macrolides for DPB.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two review authors independently assessed study quality and subsequent risk of bias according to the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias. The primary outcomes were five-year survival rate, lung function and clinical response. We used risk ratios (RR) for individual trial results in the data analysis and measured all outcomes with 95% confidence intervals (CI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only one RCT (19 participants) with significant methodological limitations was included in this review. It found that the computerised tomography images of all participants treated with a long-term, low-dose macrolide (erythromycin) improved from baseline, while the images of 71.4% of participants in the control group (with no treatment) worsened and 28.6% remained unchanged. Adverse effects were not reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is little evidence for macrolides in the treatment of DPB. We are therefore unable to make any new recommendations. It may be reasonable to use low-dose macrolides soon after diagnosis is made and to continue this treatment for at least six months, according to current guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37, Guo Xue Xiang, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, 610041.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bi Rong
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Xiufang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hong Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000188:drug therapy; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D018942:Macrolides; D004917:Erythromycin