Does low-dose phosphodiesterase inhibition improve responsiveness to inhaled nitric oxide in isolated lungs from endotoxemic rats?
Subthreshold doses of PDE5 inhibitors improved responsiveness to inhaled NO. Combining inhaled NO with subthreshold doses of PDE5 inhibitors may offer a therapeutic strategy with minimal side-effects in ALI associated with pulmonary hypertension.
The illustrated contour approach should become a standard tool for the assessment of the robustness of meta-analyses. It can guide decisions on whether to conduct additional studies addressing a relevant research question.