Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34194243›Full record

ArticleJournal of pain research2021

Are Psychotropic Medications Effective in Chronic Pain Management in Children and Adolescents? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials.

Taranjeet Jolly, Zeeshan Mansuri, Chintan Trivedi, Mahwish Adnan, Steven P Cohen, To-Nhu Vu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of pain research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 9% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

6 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Taranjeet JollyDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health, Penn State University College of Medicine, Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Harrisburg, PA, USA.
Zeeshan MansuriDepartment of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Chintan TrivediPsychiatry Department, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, TX, USA.
Mahwish AdnanDepartment of Psychiatry, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, Lincolnwood, IL, USA.
Steven P CohenDepartment of Anesthesiology & Critical Care medicine, Neurology and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
To-Nhu VuDepartment of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.
Boston Children's Hospital · USJohns Hopkins Medicine · USMercy Hospital and Medical Center · USPenn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center · USPennsylvania State University · USSt David's Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveData defining and subsequently guiding the use of psychotropic medications in children and adolescents is sparse. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized control trials to examine the effectiveness of psychotropic medications in children and adolescents with chronic pain.

methodsWe conducted a comprehensive literature search from published studies, and annual scientific sessions of psychiatry conferences. We identified double-blind, randomized control trials (RCTs) in which psychotropic medications were compared to placebo. Data was collected for the total number of patients, baseline characteristics, and changes in pain score. Meta-analysis was performed using a random effect model evaluating average change in pain score and the number of patients with a reduction in pain score for both groups. Pooled data are expressed as standardized mean differences (SMD) and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

resultsWe found 5 studies that included amitriptyline (n=2), citalopram (n=1), buspirone (n=1) and duloxetine (n=1). In the pooled analysis for the difference in the average change in pain score, 4 RCTs with 395 patients were included. After 12-13 weeks of therapy, reductions in pain score were significantly greater in the psychotropic drug group as compared to placebo (SMD: -0.77, 95% CI -1.54, 0.0001, p= 0.05). For the analysis on the number of patients with a reduction in pain, data were available for 445 patients (224-medication group, 221-placebo group). More patients in the psychotropic drug group experienced a meaningful reduction in pain score at 12-13 weeks of therapy compared to placebo (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.08-2.54, p= 0.02).

conclusionThe results of this meta-analysis demonstrate significant analgesic efficacy of psychotropic medications in the management of children with chronic pain. This review is limited by the small number of studies included for analysis. There is a pressing need for more robust clinical trials to further investigate these promising findings.

Indexed as

anti-anxiety medicationsanti-depressantschronic pediatric painmeta-analysispsychotropic

Identifiers

PMID34194243
PMCPMC8238552
OpenAlexW3174621462

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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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.