ABSTRACT
Two trials not included in the Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration analysis because of methodological problems have been published, both from China. In the Shanghai Trial of Nifedipine in the Elderly (STONE) (Gong et al., 1996) the patients were entered sequentially and not randomly into the active (nifedipine) or placebo groups, thereby giving rise to possible bias. None the less, the data are quite consistent with the other trials in the elderly, showing significant reductions in stroke and overall mortality with nifedipine (15 deaths in 817 patients) compared to placebo (26 deaths in 815 patients).
