ArticleExperimental and therapeutic medicine2020
Indirect comparison of NSAIDs for ankylosing spondylitis: Network meta-analysis of randomized, double-blinded, controlled trials.
Article in Experimental and therapeutic medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The 2026 British Society for Rheumatology guideline for pain management in people with inflammatory arthritis.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of acupuncture in the management of ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis with insights.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- An Overview of Adalimumab Therapy for Ankylosing Spondylitis.Current rheumatology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology recommendations for the management of axial spondyloarthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2023Guideline
- Is there a link between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cardiovascular risk in patients with inflammatory arthritis?Atherosclerosis plus · 2026Review
- Identifying Novel Therapeutic Opportunities for Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Bioinformatics Approach to Drug Repositioning and Herbal Medicine Prediction.Current pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2026Article
- Mechanical growth factor inhibited syndesmophyte formation and the progression of osteoarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis-like symptoms in HLA-B27/Hu-β2m transgenic rats.Arthritis research & therapy · 2025Article
- Saudi Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Axial Spondyloarthritis Disease.Rheumatology and therapy · 2025Article
- Ankylosing spondylitis management: a narrative review of radiofrequency ablation and naproxen.Pain management · 2025Review
- Choosing a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for pain.Australian prescriber · 2025Review
- The status and correlation factors of fatigue in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (FACIT-F): a cross-sectional study based on the Chinese population.BMC rheumatology · 2025Article
- [Dealing with NSAID in the treatment of axial spondylarthritis].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by lower back pain, enthesitis and asymmetrical peripheral arthritis. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended as a first-line drug treatment for AS. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of NSAIDs in patients with active AS. A total of 9 randomized controlled trials focusing on 6 NSAIDs, including etoricoxib, celecoxib, meloxicam, diclofenac, naproxen and beta-D-mannuronic acid (M2000), were analyzed in the present study. The efficacy endpoints included total pain score, patients' global assessment of disease activity (PGA), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and the rate of achieving an Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis 20% response (ASAS20). The safety endpoints included total adverse events (AEs), gastrointestinal (GI) AEs, withdrawals due to AEs and serious AEs. NSAIDs were compared with the placebo and among themselves using Bayesian network meta-analysis, calculating mean differences (MDs) for continuous data and odds ratios for dichotomous data. The analysis revealed that all NSAIDs were significantly more effective in reducing pain severity than placebo (MDs between -17.49 and -25.99). Similarly, significant improvements in PGA, BASFI and ASAS20 were determined in patients receiving NSAIDs. Furthermore, etoricoxib was ranked as the most efficacious treatment for patients with AS. With regard to safety, there were no significant differences between NSAIDs and placebo in terms of total AEs, withdrawals due to AEs or serious AEs. Furthermore, no significant differences in AEs were identified between M2000 and the placebo. However, patients treated with diclofenac and naproxen had a higher risk of GI events than those taking placebo. In conclusion, the NSAIDs were all highly effective and well-tolerated in the treatment of AS. However, clinicians should take GI toxicity into account when prescribing NSAIDs.
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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.