Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28981503›Full record

Trial reportPLoS neglected tropical diseases2017

Efficacy of cryotherapy plus topical Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb cream versus cryotherapy plus placebo in the treatment of Old World cutaneous leishmaniasis: A triple-blind randomized controlled clinical trial.

Mohammad Mahdi Parvizi, Farhad Handjani, Mahmoodreza Moein, Gholamreza Hatam, Majid Nimrouzi, Jafar Hassanzadeh, Nasrin Hamidizadeh, Hamid Reza Khorrami, Mohammad Mehdi Zarshenas

Open access · goldAbstract readComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 10% 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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
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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

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mohammad Mahdi ParviziResearch Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Farhad HandjaniMolecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2444-0073
Mahmoodreza MoeinMedicinal Plants Processing Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Gholamreza HatamBasic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Majid NimrouziResearch Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Jafar HassanzadehResearch Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, Department of Epidemiology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Nasrin HamidizadehMolecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Hamid Reza KhorramiDepartment of Parasitology and Mycology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Mohammad Mehdi ZarshenasMedicinal Plants Processing Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the highly prevalent endemic diseases in the Middle East and North Africa. Many treatment modalities have been recommended for this condition but success rates remain limited. Herbal remedies have also been used for treatment but evidence-based clinical trials with these products are sparse. In-vitro and in-vivo studies have shown the anti-leishmanial and curative effects of extract of fruits and leaves of Juniperus excelsa (J. excelsa). The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of topical J. excelsa M. Bieb extract as an adjuvant to cryotherapy for the treatment of human CL. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis study was designed as a two-arm triple-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial using a parallel design. Seventy-two patients with clinical diagnosis of CL confirmed by leishmania smears were allocated to receive either a topical formulation of leaf of J. excelsa extract (group A) or placebo (group B) for 3 months. Both groups received cryotherapy as baseline standard treatment. Patients were evaluated before and weekly after the intervention was initiated until complete cure.

resultsOverall, 82% of patients in group A, experienced complete cure and 9% of them had partial cure. On the other hand, 34% in group B reported complete cure, while 14% of them had partial cure at the end of treatment protocol with a significant difference between the two groups (P< 0.001). The mean duration to healing of the lesions in patients who received J. excelsa extract was statistically significantly shorter than the placebo group (p = 0.04). No significant side effect was seen in the J. excelsa extract group except for mild to moderate local irritation after a few weeks in a few numbers of patients.

conclusionThe results of this study showed that topical J. excelsa extract can be used as an adjuvant treatment modality in addition to cryotherapy for accelerating the time to cure in addition to increasing the complete cure rate in CL.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov IRCT2015082523753N1.

Indexed as

Administration, TopicalAdultAfrica, NorthernAgedAntiprotozoal AgentsCombined Modality TherapyCryotherapyFemaleFlavonoidsHumansJuniperusLeishmaniaLeishmaniasis, CutaneousMaleMiddle AgedMiddle EastAntiprotozoal AgentsFlavonoidsOils, VolatilePhenolsPlacebosPlant Extracts

Identifiers

PMID28981503
PMCPMC5655399
OpenAlexW2763793946

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.