SynthesisMedicine2021
The efficacy and safety of alpha-adrenergic blockers for medical expulsion therapy in patients with ureteral calculi: A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of alpha-blockers in medical expulsive therapy for ureteral stones: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials between 2010 and 2025.Arab journal of urology · 2026Review
- Ureteral wall thickness at the ureterovesical junction as a significant factor in predicting medical expulsive therapy of ureterovesical junction stones.BMC urology · 2025Article
- Alpha-blockers: the magic pill for endourology-The great delusion.World journal of urology · 2024Review
- Benign ureteral obstruction in cats: Outcome with medical management.Journal of veterinary internal medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeAlpha-adrenergic blockers are commonly used as a medical expulsive therapy (MET) for patients with ureteral calculi. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of alpha-adrenergic blockers compared with a placebo when used as a MET. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe carried out a systematic search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases, and the Cochrane Library, for relevant articles from inception to November 2020. Our aim was to identify placebo-controlled trails in which patients were randomized to receive either alpha-adrenergic blockers (tamsulosin, alfuzosin, doxazosin, terazosin, naftopidil, or silodosin) or a placebo for the treatment of ureteral calculi.
resultsAccording to strict inclusion criteria, database searches identified 8 placebo-controlled studies that included 2284 patients. Generally, α-blockers had no significant effect on the clearance of stones in the urinary tract (risk ratio [RR] = 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00-1.11). However, subgroup analysis showed that α-blockers were effective in treating distal urinary tract stones (RR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.02-1.15). With regards to adverse events, our analysis showed that the combination of MET with α-blockers was likely to cause dizziness (RR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.06-1.79) and retrograde ejaculation (RR = 3.10; 95% CI = 1.81-5.29).
conclusionAlthough α-blockers cannot improve the overall ureteral stone clearance rate, these drugs are still effective for the treatment of stones in the distal urinary tract. However, the application of α-blockers is likely to cause dizziness and/or retrograde ejaculation.
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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.