Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17415287›Full record

SynthesisMedGenMed : Medscape general medicine2006

Comparing the efficacy of medications for ADHD using meta-analysis.

Stephen V Faraone, Joseph Biederman, Thomas J Spencer, Megan Aleardi

Open access · greenAbstract readComparative StudyMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Synthesis in MedGenMed : Medscape general medicine, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 25 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
103citing papers in PubMed, 25 pooled it
8.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

103 citing papers in PubMed, 25 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 232 citations in OpenAlex.

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  12. Bupropion for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017
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43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Stephen V FaraoneProfessor of Psychiatry; Director, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York; Email: faraones@upstate.edu.
Joseph Biederman
Thomas J Spencer
Megan Aleardi
SUNY Upstate Medical University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveMedications used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been well researched, but comparisons among drugs are hindered by the absence of direct comparative trials.

methodsWe analyzed recent published literature on the pharmacotherapy of ADHD to describe the variability of drug-placebo effect sizes. A literature search was conducted to identify double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of ADHD youth published after 1979. Meta-analysis regression assessed the influence of medication type and study design features on medication effects.

resultsTwenty-nine trials met criteria and were included in this meta-analysis. These trials studied 15 drugs using 17 different outcome measures of hyperactive, inattentive, impulsive, or oppositional behavior. The most commonly identified treatments included both methylphenidate and amphetamine compounds. After stratifying trials on the class of drug studied (short-acting stimulant vs long-acting stimulant vs nonstimulant), we found significant drug differences for both study design variables and effect sizes. The differences among the 3 classes of drug remained significant after correcting for study design variables.

conclusionUniformity appears to be lacking in how medication effectiveness is assessed and in many study design parameters. Comparing medication effect sizes from different studies will be biased without accounting for variability in study design parameters. Although these differences obscure comparisons among specific medications, they do allow for conclusions about the differential effects of broad classes of medications used to treat ADHD.

Indexed as

Randomized Controlled Trials as TopicAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityCentral Nervous System StimulantsCross-Over StudiesHumansCentral Nervous System Stimulants

Identifiers

PMID17415287
PMCPMC1868385
OpenAlexW1506520709

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.