Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of foscarnet sodium in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMbase, The Cochrane Library and CNKI from 1978 to June 2006. Randomized controlled trials of foscarnet sodium versus other drugs or no drugs in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B were identified. The quality of the included trials was evaluated by two reviewers independently. Meta-analysis was done using The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2.7. Results Seven studies (337 patients) were included; one compared foscarnet sodium versus interferon, and the other six compared foscarnet sodium versus no drugs. All the included studies were graded in terms of the quality of randomization, allocation concealment and blinding. All 7 studies were graded as level C. The meta-analysis showed that: ① foscarnet sodium was not significantly different from interferon in clinical efficacy, liver function, negative-conversion rate of virological markers and side effects. ② compared with the no drugs group, the negative-conversion rate of virological markers was significantly higher for the foscarnet sodium group, HBeAg (RR 6.20, 95%CI 1.76 to 21.79) and HBV-DNA (RR 4.13, 95%CI 1.32 to 12.86); but there were no significant differences in clinical efficacy, liver function and side effects. Conclusions Available evidence shows that: in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B the effectiveness and safety of foscarnet sodium are not significantly different from interferon, but only one trial is included in this review, so the evidence is weak. Compared with no drugs, foscarnet sodium significantly improves the negative-conversion rate of virological markers, but the evidence is insufficient to show whether foscarnet sodium could improve clinical efficacy and liver function, as well as reduce side effects.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of foscarnet and ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus retinitis associated with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Methods We searched MEDLINE (1966 to 2005.12), EMBASE (1974 to Dec.2005), The Cochrane Library (Issue 4,2005), CBM (1978 to Dec.2005), CMCC (1994 to Dec. 2005), CNKI (1994 to Dec. 2005) and VIP (1989 to Dec. 2005). We identified randomized controlled trials of foscarnet versus ganciclovir. Two independent reviewers collected and evaluated details of study populations, interventions, and outcomes using a data extraction form. We conducted meta-analysis of the homoeonomous data. Result Three studies involving 451 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed foscarnet was better than ganciclovir with the following outcomes: mortality (RR=0.84, 95%CI 0.70 to 1.00, P=0.05); male genital ulcers (RR=1.29, 95%CI 0.60 to 2.82, P=0.002). There were no significant differences in ocular symptoms, relapses and other side effects. Conclusion Foscarnet in the treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS patients may be more benefical than ganciclovir with regard to mortality and male genital ulcers, but the supporting evidence is not very b because there are only three trials.