Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2008
Effect of tadalafil on blood flow, pain, and function in chronic cold complex regional pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions for treating pain and disability in adults with complex regional pain syndrome- an overview of systematic reviews.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Is chronic inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 5 cardioprotective and safe? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC medicine · 2014Pooled it
- Interventions for treating pain and disability in adults with complex regional pain syndrome.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Alcohol use disorder-associated pain: clinical and preclinical evidence.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- The Analgesic Efficacy of Therapies Used for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Current and Evolving Concepts in the Management of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- 10. Complex regional pain syndrome.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025Review
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.Revista brasileira de ortopedia · 2024Article
- Molecular Mechanics Simulations and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Tadalafil on Various Inflammatory Pain Mediators.ACS omega · 2022Article
- From a Symptom-Based to a Mechanism-Based Pharmacotherapeutic Treatment in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.Drugs · 2022Review
- Nrf2 Activation Mediates Antiallodynic Effect of Electroacupuncture on a Rat Model of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type-I through Reducing Local Oxidative Stress and Inflammation.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2022Article
- Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor therapy provides sustained relief of symptoms among patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome.Translational andrology and urology · 2020Article
- Anti-allodynic Effect of Mangiferin in Rats With Chronic Post-ischemia Pain: A Model of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2018Article
- Alternatives to Opioids in the Pharmacologic Management of Chronic Pain Syndromes: A Narrative Review of Randomized, Controlled, and Blinded Clinical Trials.Anesthesia and analgesia · 2017Review
- Microvascular Response in Patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome as Measured by Laser Doppler Imaging.Microcirculation (New York, N.Y. : 1994) · 2016Article
- Involvement of NO-cGMP pathway in anti-hyperalgesic effect of PDE5 inhibitor tadalafil in experimental hyperalgesia.Inflammopharmacology · 2015Article
- Topical combinations to treat microvascular dysfunction of chronic postischemia pain.Anesthesia and analgesia · 2014Article
- Drug repositioning: playing dirty to kill pain.CNS drugs · 2014Review
- Tadalafil analgesia in experimental arthritis involves suppression of intra-articular TNF release.British journal of pharmacology · 2011Article
- Current Concepts in Adult CRPS.Reviews in pain · 2011Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis double-blind, randomized, controlled trial investigated the effect of the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor tadalafil on the microcirculation in patients with cold Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in one lower extremity.
methodsTwenty-four patients received 20 mg tadalafil or placebo daily for 12 weeks. The patients also participated in a physical therapy program. The primary outcome measure was temperature difference between the CRPS side and the contralateral side, determined by measuring the skin temperature with videothermography. Secondary outcomes were: pain measured on a Visual Analogue Scale, muscle force measured with a MicroFet 2 dynamometer, and level of activity measured with an Activity Monitor (AM) and walking tests.
resultsAt the end of the study period, the temperature asymmetry was not significantly reduced in the tadalafil group compared with the placebo group, but there was a significant and clinically relevant reduction of pain in the tadalafil group. Muscle force improved in both treatment groups and the AM revealed small, non-significant improvements in time spent standing, walking, and the number of short walking periods.
conclusionTadalafil may be a promising new treatment for patients that have chronic cold CRPS due to endothelial dysfunction, and deserves further investigation.
trial registrationThe registration number in the Dutch Trial Register is ISRCTN60226869.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.