Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25609025›Full record

SynthesisThe Journal of investigative dermatology2015

Placebo effects on itch: a meta-analysis of clinical trials of patients with dermatological conditions.

Antoinette I M van Laarhoven, Ineke M van der Sman-Mauriks, A Rogier T Donders, Mathilde C Pronk, Peter C M van de Kerkhof, Andrea W M Evers

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Journal of investigative dermatology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

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

39 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  17. Placebo: a brief updated review.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2022
    Review
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  20. Article
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

6 authors.

Antoinette I M van LaarhovenUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: A.vanlaarhoven@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
Ineke M van der Sman-MauriksUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
A Rogier T DondersDepartment for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Mathilde C PronkUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Peter C M van de KerkhofDepartment of Dermatology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Andrea W M EversUnit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although placebo contributes to the effects of treatment for various symptoms and conditions, its effect on itch has rarely been investigated. In this meta-analysis, the magnitude of the placebo effect on itch was systematically investigated in clinical trials including patients with chronic itch due to atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or chronic idiopathic urticaria. From searches in four databases, 34 articles were included in the quantitative analyses. Placebo treatment significantly decreased itch (1.3 out of 10, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.61) compared with baseline itch (effect size 0.55), indicating that placebo effects have a considerable role in these patients' treatment.

Indexed as

Controlled Clinical Trials as TopicPlacebo EffectAntipruriticsDermatitis, AtopicFemaleHumansMalePruritusPsoriasisSeverity of Illness IndexTreatment OutcomeUrticariaAntipruritics

Identifiers

PMID25609025

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.