Trial reportPain2016
A randomized controlled trial of gabapentin for chronic low back pain with and without a radiating component.
Trial report in Pain, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 7 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
35 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Predictors of success of pharmacological management in patients with chronic lower back pain: systematic review.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Pooled it
- Non-opioid psychiatric medications for chronic pain: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Pooled it
- Pregabalin and gabapentin for chronic low back pain without radiculopathy: a systematic review.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2023Pooled it
- Anticonvulsants in the treatment of low back pain and lumbar radicular pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2018Pooled it
- Benefits and safety of gabapentinoids in chronic low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.PLoS medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Gabapentin for chronic neuropathic pain in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Pilot RCT comparing low-dose naltrexone, gabapentin and placebo to reduce pain among people with HIV with alcohol problems.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Improving Clinical Trial Design in Low Back Pain: Insights from Studies of Gabapentinoids.Pain and therapy · 2026Review
- Article
- Review
- Off-Label Use of Gabapentinoids in Non-diabetic Patients Referred to a Rheumatology Clinic: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2026Article
- Saudi Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Low Back Pain and Sciatica in Adults.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Trends and Guideline Adherence in Gabapentinoid Use among Geriatric Outpatients: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study at a Falls Clinic.Drugs & aging · 2026Article
- Routine medical care for adults with musculoskeletal disorders in the Indigenous community of Pimicikamak, northern Manitoba before and after implementing the Global Spine Care Initiative model: a retrospective chart review with a 10-month post-implementation window: A collaborative research project between World Spine Care Canada (WSCC), Pimicikamack Okimawin, and Cross Lake Nursing Station.The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association · 2025Article
- Managing radicular pain in patients with normal MRIs: Challenges and insights?Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Mirogabalin in Patients with Neuropathic Pain Due to Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy: Miro-Cens, A Randomized, Controlled, Interventional Study.Pain and therapy · 2025Article
- Pharmacological interventions for patients with chronic primary musculoskeletal pain: disparity between synthesized evidence and real-world clinical practice.Pain reports · 2025Article
- Intradiscal Autologous Biologics for the Treatment of Chronic Discogenic Low Back Pain.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Review
- Patterns of gabapentinoid use among long-term opioid users.Preventive medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Gabapentin is prescribed for analgesia in chronic low back pain, yet there are no controlled trials supporting this practice. This randomized, 2-arm, 12-week, parallel group study compared gabapentin (forced titration up to 3600 mg daily) with inert placebo. The primary efficacy measure was change in pain intensity from baseline to the last week on treatment measured by the Descriptor Differential Scale; the secondary outcome was disability (Oswestry Disability Index). The intention-to-treat analysis comprised 108 randomized patients with chronic back pain (daily pain for ≥6 months) whose pain did (43%) or did not radiate into the lower extremity. Random effects regression models which did not impute missing scores were used to analyze outcome data. Pain intensity decreased significantly over time (P < 0.0001) with subjects on gabapentin or placebo, reporting reductions of about 30% from baseline, but did not differ significantly between groups (P = 0.423). The same results pertained for disability scores. In responder analyses of those who completed 12 weeks (N = 72), the proportion reporting at least 30% or 50% reduction in pain intensity, or at least "Minimal Improvement" on the Physician Clinical Global Impression of Change did not differ significantly between groups. There were no significant differences in analgesia between participants with radiating (n = 46) and nonradiating (n = 62) pain either within or between treatment arms. There was no significant correlation between gabapentin plasma concentration and pain intensity. Gabapentin appears to be ineffective for analgesia in chronic low back pain with or without a radiating component.
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.