ArticleAnnals of gastroenterology2017
Anal self-massage in the treatment of acute anal fissure: a randomized prospective study.
Article in Annals of gastroenterology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Sphincter Pressure and Anal Length on Surgical Decision in Chronic Anal Fissure.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Pelvic Floor Disorders Due to Anal Sexual Activity in Men and Women: A Narrative Review.Archives of sexual behavior · 2024Review
- Scanner-Assisted COFrontiers in surgery · 2021Article
- A novel minimally invasive treatment for anal fissure.Annals of gastroenterology · 2017Article
- Authors' reply.Annals of gastroenterology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAn anal fissure (AF) is a tear in the epithelial lining of the anal canal. This is a very common condition, but the choice of treatment is unclear. The use of anal dilators is effective, economic, and safe. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of two conservative treatments, the use of anal dilators or a finger for anal dilatation, in reducing anal pressure and resolving anal fissures.
methodsFifty patients with a clinical diagnosis of AF were randomly assigned to one of the treatments, self-massage of the anal sphincter (group A, 25 patients) or passive dilatation using dilators (group B, 25 patients). All patients were evaluated at baseline, at the end of treatment, and after 12 weeks and 6 months. Pain was measured using a visual analog scale.
resultsAfter the treatment, 60% of patients treated with dilators and 80% of patients treated with anal self-massage using a finger showed disappearance of their anal fissures. A comparison between signs and symptoms reported by the patients in the two groups showed a statistically significant reduction in anal pain (group A, P=0.0001; group B, P=0.0001) and bleeding after defecation (group A, P=0.001, group B, P=0.001). At 6 months after treatment, a significantly greater reduction in anal pain was observed in Group A compared to Group B (P=0.02).
conclusionThe use of anal self-massage with a finger appears to induce a better resolution of acute anal fissure than do anal dilators, and in a shorter time.
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Registered trials
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