SynthesisAnnals of clinical and translational neurology2019
Effectiveness of corticosteroids versus adrenocorticotropic hormone for infantile spasms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 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
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Corticotherapy versus adrenocorticotropic hormone for treating West syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of vigabatrin in the treatment of infantile epileptic spasms syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Epilepsia open · 2023Pooled it
- Infantile epileptic spasms syndrome: Mechanisms and therapeutic approaches.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Review
- One Size Does Not Fit All: Novel Individualized Use of Dexamethasone in Infantile Epileptic Spasms Syndrome.Neurology and therapy · 2025Article
- The multiple hit model of infantile and epileptic spasms: The 2025 update.Epilepsia open · 2025Article
- Distinct T Cell Dysregulation Reflects Disease Severity and Progression in Infantile Epileptic Spasms Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.Immune network · 2025Article
- First-choice hormonal therapies for children with infantile epileptic spasms syndrome in South Asia: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Epilepsia open · 2024Review
- A Comprehensive Review on Current Insights Into Epileptic Encephalopathy: Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Strategies.Cureus · 2024Review
- Brazilian experts' consensus on the treatment of infantile epileptic spasm syndrome in infants.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of ACTH in Patients with Infantile Spasms.Brain sciences · 2022Article
- Probiotics counteract hepatic steatosis caused by ketogenic diet and upregulate AMPK signaling in a model of infantile epilepsy.EBioMedicine · 2022Article
- Treatment of West Syndrome: From Clinical Efficacy to Cost-Effectiveness, the Juggernaut Rolls On.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2022Article
- Effectiveness and Safety of Nitrazepam in Children with Resistant West Syndrome.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2022Observational
- Safety and Effectiveness of Oral Methylprednisolone Therapy in Comparison With Intramuscular Adrenocorticotropic Hormone and Oral Prednisolone in Children With Infantile Spasms.Frontiers in neurology · 2021Article
- Improving Management of Infantile Spasms by Adopting Implementation Science.Neuropediatrics · 2020Review
- Cost-effectiveness of adrenocorticotropic hormone injection and oral prednisolone in patients with West syndrome: A comparative analysis.Journal of neurosciences in rural practiceArticle
- Finding the Best: Corticosteroids for the Treatment of West Syndrome.Annals of Indian Academy of NeurologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the therapeutic effectiveness of oral corticosteroids with that of adrenocorticotrophic hormone for infantile spasms.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane library were searched to retrieve studies published before December 2018 to identify pediatric patients with a diagnosis of infantile spasms. The interventions of oral corticosteroids and adrenocorticotrophic hormone were compared. We included only randomized controlled trials that reported the cessation of spasms as treatment response. The primary outcome was clinical spasm cessation on day 13 or 14. The secondary outcomes were the resolution of hypsarrhythmia, side effects, continued spasm control, spasm relapse rate, and subsequent epilepsy rate. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, the study-level quality assessment was conducted using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool.
resultsAfter extensive review, 39 articles were included for meticulous evaluation. Five randomized controlled trials with a total of 239 individuals were eligible for further analysis. No significant difference was detected between the corticosteroids and adrenocorticotrophic hormone in the cessation of clinical spasms (odds ratio [OR]: 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16 to 1.81; P = 0.32). The subgroups of high-dose prednisolone versus adrenocorticotrophic hormone and low-dose prednisone versus adrenocorticotrophic hormone also exhibited no significant difference. Furthermore, the two subgroups did not differ in terms of hypsarrhythmia resolution, side effects, relapse rate, or subsequent epilepsy rate.
interpretationThis meta-analysis suggests that high-dose prednisolone is not inferior to adrenocorticotrophic hormone and that it be considered a safe and effective alternative treatment.
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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.