Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37173686›Full record

SynthesisJournal of foot and ankle research2023

Predicting the outcome of plantar heel pain in adults: a systematic review of prognostic factors.

Halime Gulle, Dylan Morrissey, Xiang Li Tan, Matthew Cotchett, Stuart Charles Miller, Aleksandra Birn Jeffrey, Trevor Prior

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of foot and ankle research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
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  7. Key Considerations When Targeting a Heel Spur.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2023
    Review
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

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Halime GulleSports and Exercise Medicine, William Harvey Research Institute, Bart's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft Road, London, E1 4DG, UK.
Dylan MorrisseySports and Exercise Medicine, William Harvey Research Institute, Bart's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft Road, London, E1 4DG, UK.
Xiang Li TanDepartment of Rheumatology, Medicine, Ashford and St Peter's Hospital, Guildford St, Lyne, KT16 0PZ, Chertsey, UK.
Matthew CotchettDepartment of Physiotherapy, Podiatry, Prosthetics and Orthotics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Stuart Charles MillerSports and Exercise Medicine, William Harvey Research Institute, Bart's and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Hospital, Bancroft Road, London, E1 4DG, UK.
Aleksandra Birn JeffreySchool of Engineering and Materials Science, Institute of Bioengineering, Queen Mary University London, Mile End, Bancroft Road, London, E1 4DG, UK.
Trevor PriorConsultant Podiatric Surgeon Homerton University Hospital, Homerton Row, London, E9 6SR, UK. trevor.prior@premierpodiatry.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2740-3515
Queen Mary University of London · GBHomerton University Hospital · GBLa Trobe University · AUSt Peter's Hospital · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPlantar Heel Pain (PHP) is a common disorder with many treatment pathways and is not self-limiting, hence prognostic information concerning recovery or recalcitrance is needed to guide practice. In this systematic review, we investigate which prognostic factors are associated with favourable or unfavourable PHP outcomes.

methodsMEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus and PubMed electronic bibliographic databases were searched for studies evaluating baseline patient characteristics associated with outcomes in prospective longitudinal cohorts or after specific interventions. Cohort, clinical prediction rule derivation and single arms of randomised controlled trials were included. Risk of bias was evaluated with method-specific tools and evidence certainty with GRADE.

resultsThe review included five studies which evaluated 98 variables in 811 participants. Prognostic factors could be categorised as demographics, pain, physical and activity-related. Three factors including sex and bilateral symptoms (HR: 0.49[0.30-0.80], 0.33[0.15-0.72], respectively) were associated with a poor outcome in a single cohort study. The remaining four studies reported twenty factors associated with a favourable outcome following shockwave therapy, anti-pronation taping and orthoses. Heel spur (AUC = 0.88[0.82-0.93]), ankle plantar-flexor strength (Likelihood ratio (LR): 2.17[1.20-3.95]) and response to taping (LR = 2.17[1.19-3.90]) were the strongest factors predicting medium-term improvement. Overall, the study quality was low. A gap map analysis revealed an absence of research that included psychosocial factors.

conclusionsA limited number of biomedical factors predict favourable or unfavourable PHP outcomes. High quality, adequately powered, prospective studies are required to better understand PHP recovery and should evaluate the prognostic value of a wide range of variables, including psychosocial factors.

Indexed as

Foot DiseasesHeelAdultCohort StudiesHumansPainPrognosisProspective StudiesOutcome predictorsPlantar heel painPrognosis

Identifiers

PMID37173686
PMCPMC10176769
OpenAlexW4376631041

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.