SynthesisMedicine2020
Meta-regression analysis of the efficacy of alendronate for prevention of glucocorticoid-induced fractures.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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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0 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
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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
backgroundWhat affects the efficacy of alendronate for prevention of glucocorticoid-induced (GI) fractures remains unclear. We aimed to explore the factors affecting alendronate's efficacy, and further identify subgroup effects of alendronate in preventing GI fractures.
methodsWe searched 3 databases. Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each endpoint. Meta-regression analysis was used to explore sources of heterogeneity, and subgroup analysis was used to address heterogeneity and evaluate subgroup effects. We detected publication bias using funnel plots and Egger tests.
resultsWe included 13 papers from 12 unique studies involving 46431 participants. Glucocorticoid (GC) dosage (P = .053) and proportion of previous vertebral fracture (PVF) (P = .047) were probably 2 sources of heterogeneity in meta-analysis for vertebral fractures, while GC duration (P = .020) was probably 1 for nonvertebral fractures. Alendronate reduced vertebral fractures in the high dosage subgroup (RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.44-0.86), but didn't in the low dosage subgroup (RR 1.56, 95% CI 0.20-12.02). Alendronate reduced vertebral fractures (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.40-0.68) in the subgroup of PVF proportion <5%, but didn't (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.42-1.37) in the subgroup of this proportion ≥5%. Alendronate reduced nonvertebral and hip fractures, whether in primary or in secondary prevention subgroup.
conclusionsThe findings in our study support that alendronate is used for the primary and secondary prevention of GI fractures, but do not support that alendronate is recommended as a first-line agent for patients receiving a low dose of GCs or patients with PVF.
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