ReviewJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2016
Pharmacological treatments for fatigue associated with palliative care: executive summary of a Cochrane Collaboration systematic review.
Review in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use of modafinil for the treatment of fatigue in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.Brain and behavior · 2024Pooled it
- Placebo response in trials of drug treatments for cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.BMJ supportive & palliative care · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of a digital intervention on mental health symptoms in adults with chronic conditions: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2026Trial
- Effects of zinc supplementation on fatigue and quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil)Trial
- Impact of hospice care plus estazolam on sleep and psychological distress in advanced gastrointestinal cancer: a real-world observational study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Knowledge mapping of frailty and surgery: a bibliometric and visualized analysis.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2024Article
- Use of Dexamethasone for Severe Fatigue in the Advanced Cancer Population: A Brief Report.Palliative medicine reports · 2024Article
- Management of cancer-related fatigue in Taiwan: an evidence-based consensus for screening, assessment and treatment.Japanese journal of clinical oncology · 2023Article
- AASLD Practice Guidance: Palliative care and symptom-based management in decompensated cirrhosis.Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) · 2022Article
- Successful Strategies and Areas of Improvement-Lessons Learned from Design and Conduction of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial in Palliative Care, 'Palliative-D'.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Radiotherapy-Induced Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients.Breast care (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Associations between symptom severity and treatment burden in people living with HIV.Journal of advanced nursing · 2020Article
- How Confident Are We at Assessing and Managing Fatigue in Palliative Care Patients? A Multicenter Survey Exploring the Current Attitudes of Palliative Care Professionals.Palliative medicine reports · 2020Article
- Auricular acupressure: reducing side effects of chemotherapy in women with ovarian cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019Article
- Undiagnosed cardiac deficits in non-small cell carcinoma patients in the candidate population for anti-cachexia clinical trials.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019Article
- Contemporary publication patterns in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle by type and sub-speciality: facts and numbers.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2018Article
- Palliative Care in Lung Cancer: When to Start.Current oncology reports · 2018Review
- From meta-analysis to Cochrane reviews.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2018Article
- Casting the net broader to confirm our imaginations: the long road to treating wasting disorders.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2017Article
- Pharmacological treatments for fatigue associated with palliative care: executive summary of a Cochrane Collaboration systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn palliative care patients, fatigue can be severely debilitating and is often not counteracted with rest, thereby impacting daily activity and quality of life. Further complicating issues are the multidimensionality, subjective nature and lack of a consensus definition of fatigue. The review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological treatments for fatigue in palliative care, with a focus on patients at an advanced stage of disease, including patients with cancer and other chronic diseases.
methodsWe considered randomized controlled trials concerning adult palliative care with a focus on pharmacological treatment of fatigue compared with placebo, application of two drugs, usual care or a non-pharmacological intervention. The primary outcome had to be non-specific fatigue (or related terms such as asthenia). We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and EMBASE, and a selection of cancer journals up to 28 April 2014. Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted the data.
resultsWe screened 1645 publications of which 45 met the inclusion criteria. In total, we analysed data from 18 drugs and 4696 participants. There was a very high degree of statistical and clinical heterogeneity in the trials. Meta-analysis of data was possible for modafinil, pemoline, and methylphenidate.
conclusionsDue to the limited evidence, we cannot recommend a specific drug for the treatment of fatigue in palliative care patients. Some drugs, which may be beneficial for the treatment of fatigue associated with palliative care such as amantadine, methylphenidate, and modafinil, should be further researched.
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.