A Cochrane review included 34 studies with a total of 7731 subjects with acute ischaemic stroke. The average age ranged from 52.3 to 74.6 years. Nimodipine was used as the treatment in 26 trials. No effect of calcium antagonists on poor outcome (RR 1.05; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.13) or death (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.17) at the end of follow-up was observed.
Comment: A quality of evidence is downgraded by publication bias (the published trials showed no effect on primary outcome but unpublished trials were associated with a statistically significantly worse outcome in the treatment group).