Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22120916›Full record

SynthesisSchmerz (Berlin, Germany)2011

[Placebo responders in randomized controlled drug trials of fibromyalgia syndrome : Systematic review and meta-analysis].

W Häuser, E Bartram-Wunn, C Bartram, T R Tölle

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Schmerz (Berlin, Germany), 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 39% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) for fibromyalgia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. The Probiotic VSL#3Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

W HäuserKlinik für Innere Medizin 1, Klinikum Saarbrücken gGmbH, Winterberg 1, 66119, Saarbrücken, Deutschland. whaeuser@klinikum-saarbruecken.de
E Bartram-Wunn
C Bartram
T R Tölle
Klinikum Saarbrücken · DETechnical University of Munich · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe superiority of true drug treatment over placebo in reducing symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is small. Drug placebo treatment of functional somatic syndromes (FSS) such as FMS has been discussed. We determined the magnitude of placebo responders in drug trials with FMS patients to substantiate further research on placebo treatment of FSS. MATERIAL AND

methodsCENTRAL, MEDLINE, Scopus, and the databases of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America were searched for randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials with a parallel design and treatment duration of ≥ 12 weeks in FMS patients from inception to 31 December 2010. The magnitude of placebo responders was assessed by the pooled estimate of patients with a 30% and 50% reduction in pain.

resultsThirty studies with 3,846 patients on placebo were included. The pooled estimate of a 30% placebo pain reduction was 30.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 29.4-32.3%) and of a 50% placebo pain reduction was 18.8% (95% CI 17.5-20.1%). The pooled estimate of the risk ratio of 30% pain reduction by true drug versus placebo was 1.38 (95% CI 1.27-1.49). The pooled estimate of the risk ratio of 50% pain reduction by true drug versus placebo response was 1.57 (95% CI 1.36-1.81).

conclusionThe magnitude of responders to placebo in drug trials of FMS is substantial. The efficacy, safety, and costs of drugs recommended for FMS therapy and open-label placebo should be compared in large multinational trials sponsored by public institutions. The English full-text version of this article is available at SpringerLink (under "Supplemental").

Indexed as

Placebo EffectRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAnticonvulsantsAntidepressive AgentsDouble-Blind MethodFibromyalgiaHumansOdds RatioPain MeasurementAnticonvulsantsAntidepressive Agents

Identifiers

PMID22120916
OpenAlexW193980538

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.