TABLE 5

Sensitivity analysis: summary of treatment effect estimates, weighted according to outcome, including studies with PEDro scores >5 only

	V′_O₂peak L·min⁻¹	Peak work rate W	Cycle endurance min	ISWT m	ESWT	6MWT m	12MWT m
Additional exercise training
LL strength	−0.10 (−0.43–0.23); N¹=11i versus 13c	9.00 (−14.60–32.60); N¹=11i versus 13c				−4.60 (−102.05–92.85); N¹=11i versus 13c
UL/LL strength						30.90 (−10.39–72.20)^#; N²=45i versus 39c
Other						*26.70 (0.94–52.46); N¹=36i versus* 36c**
NIV	0.08 (−0.15–0.32); N¹=9i versus 10c	8.00 (−5.53–21.53); N¹=9i versus 10c	3.50 (−1.38–8.38); N¹=10i versus 11c	*23.71 (2.65–44.77); N²=27i versus* 31c**
Oxygen	−0.04 (−0.26–0.18); N¹=14i versus 15c	3.00 (−16.32–22.32); N¹=14i versus 15c	4.70 (−1.96–11.36); N¹=14i versus 15c		*490.00 (237.90–742.10) m; N¹=24i versus* 23c**
Heliox	0.02 (−0.04–0.08); N²=16i versus 15c	4.00 (−4.15–12.15); N¹=16i versus 15c	5.20 (−0.17–10.57); N¹=16i versus 15c
Prescription medications
Tiotropium			*5.35 (0.89–9.81); N¹=47i versus* 44c**			7.30 (−15.96–30.56); N¹=57i versus 63c
Anabolic steroids	0.10 (−0.02–0.23); N¹=33i versus 30c	4.00 (−5.28–13.28); N¹=33i versus 30c				*−63.0 (−91.09– −34.91); N¹=10i versus* 7c**
Growth hormone	*0.05 (0.01–0.09); N²=18i versus* 18c**	−11.00 (−26.48–4.48); N¹=8i versus 8c				−26.21 (−148.92–96.50)^#; N²=22i versus 23c
Vitamin D	*0.64 (0.07–1.22); N¹=25i versus* 24c**	7.00 (−0.28–14.28); N¹=25i versus 24c				29.0 (−7.62–65.62); N¹=25i versus 24c
Hypertonic saline						*−190.0 (−247.34– −132.66); N¹=30i versus* 27c**
Nutritional supplementation
Proteins/fats	−0.03 (−0.12–0.06); N¹=38i versus 42c	*9.00 (4.32–13.68); N¹=38i versus* 42c**	2.86 (−2.00–7.72); N¹=10i versus 10c	−17.40 (−43.52–8.72); N¹=25i versus 35c		82.70 (−38.59–203.99); N¹=16i versus 10c
Creatine	0.14 (−0.02–0.29); N¹=14i versus 11c	4.29 (−9.53–18.11); N¹=14i versus 11c		−3.62 (−31.75–24.52); N²=52i versus 53c	−0.67 (−2.96–1.63) min; N²=52i versus 53c
Amino acids
Breathing exercises
Inspiratory muscle training	0.48 (−0.17–1.14) units^¶; N¹=20i versus 17c					29.68 (−9.48–68.84); N²=34i versus 30c
Breathing retraining						−12.58 (−35.93–10.77); N¹=20i versus 20c
Other				3.20 (−24.06–30.46); N¹=16i versus 25c		64.80 (−12.94–142.54); N¹=10i versus 10c

Data are presented as mean difference (95% CI), where the mean difference is the change from baseline and a positive effect estimate favours intervention (“add-on” therapies). Data from individual studies may appear more than once across different outcomes (columns). V′_O₂peak: peak oxygen uptake; ISWT: incremental shuttle walk test; ESWT: endurance shuttle walk test; 6MWT: 6-min walk test; 12MWT: 12-min walk test; LL: lower limb; UL: upper limb; NIV: noninvasive ventilation; N^x: number of participants (x is number of studies); i: intervention group; c: control group. ^#: random effects model; ^¶: standardised mean difference. Bold indicates statistically significant treatment effect.