Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30677078›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2019

Polypharmacy in outpatients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: A single-center study.

Niklas Frahm, Michael Hecker, Uwe Klaus Zettl

Open access · goldAbstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Polypharmacy and multiple sclerosis: A population-based study.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
  8. [Headache in multiple sclerosis].Der Nervenarzt · 2020
    Review
  9. Review
  10. 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

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Niklas FrahmNeuroimmunology Section, Department of Neurology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4655-774X
Michael HeckerNeuroimmunology Section, Department of Neurology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7015-3094
Uwe Klaus ZettlNeuroimmunology Section, Department of Neurology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
University of Rostock · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system. Given the chronic and heterogenous nature of the disease, treatment with various therapies is a frequent scenario in clinical practice. In persons with chronic morbidity such as MS patients, polypharmacy can give rise to considerable health problems.

objectivesThe aim of the present study was to examine the frequency of polypharmacy among relapsing-remitting (RR) MS patients as well as to analyse sociodemographic and clinical factors, which might be associated with polypharmacy (use of five or more medications). Differences in medication between MS patients with and without secondary illnesses (PwSI and Pw/oSI), between men and women and between patients with and without polypharmacy (PwP and Pw/oP) were examined.

methodsFor 145 RRMS outpatients, we prospectively collected data by means of anamnesis, patient records, clinical examination and a structured patient interview. This was followed by comparative analyses of various patient subgroups (PwP vs. Pw/oP, PwSI vs. Pw/oSI, men vs. women).

resultsThe proportion of included MS patients with polypharmacy (use of ≥5 medications) was 30.3%. PwP were significantly older than Pw/oP (45.9 vs. 41.7 years), had a lower level of education and showed a significantly higher median EDSS score (3.0 vs. 2.0). Comorbidities (p<0.001; odds ratio [OR] = 6.293) and higher EDSS scores (p = 0.029; OR = 1.440) were associated with a higher risk of polypharmacy. The proportion of polypharmacy among PwSI was approximately four times higher than among Pw/oSI (46.8% vs. 11.8%). Particularly in the use of antihypertensives, gastrointestinal drugs and dietary supplements, there were differences between Pw/oP and PwP.

conclusionWe found a high burden of polypharmacy in patients with RRMS. This particularly applies to more severely disabled MS patients who suffer from comorbidities.

Indexed as

OutpatientsPolypharmacyAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMedical RecordsMiddle AgedMultiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-RemittingProspective Studies

Identifiers

PMID30677078
PMCPMC6345436
OpenAlexW2914099159

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.