SynthesisRMD open2023
Efficacy of pharmacological interventions: a systematic review informing the 2023 EULAR recommendations for the management of fatigue in people with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
Synthesis in RMD open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- ERS/EULAR clinical practice guidelines for connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease.The European respiratory journal · 2026Guideline
- Exercise and physical activity for fatigue, disease activity and immune-inflammatory outcomes in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus: an umbrella review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of ivarmacitinib on patient-reported outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis: a post-hoc analysis of a phase III trial.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Trial
- Fatigue in Sjögren's Disease - Integrating Biomedical and Psychosocial Aspects: A Narrative Review.Rheumatology and therapy · 2026Review
- Physical Activity or Exercise: Is there any Difference in Common Symptoms and Quality of Life Among Female Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases? A Qualitative Study.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2026Article
- Trends in research on fatigue in rheumatology: Bibliometric analysis.Rheumatology and immunology research · 2026Article
- Baseline pain, fatigue, and sleep quality predict 12-week pain improvement in inflammatory arthritis: retrospective real-world analysis of a digital health application cohort.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Pain and fatigue in systemic sclerosis: Practical strategies for non-pharmacological management.Journal of scleroderma and related disorders · 2025Review
- Evaluating Meaningful Changes in Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Fatigue Scores from Three Phase 3 Clinical Trials of Sarilumab for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.ACR open rheumatology · 2025Article
- The potential role of fatigue in difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis.BMC rheumatology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo identify the best evidence on the efficacy of pharmacological interventions in reducing fatigue in people with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (I-RMDs) and to summarise their safety in the identified studies to inform European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology recommendations for the management of fatigue in people with I-RMDs.
methodsSystematic review of adults with I-RMDs conducted according to the Cochrane Handbook. Search strategy ran in Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Complete, PEDro, OTseeker and PsycINFO. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled clinical trials were eligible. Assessment of risk of bias, data extraction and synthesis performed by two reviewers independently and in duplicate. Data pooled in statistical meta-analyses.
resultsFrom 4151 records, 455 were selected for full-text review, 99 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and 19 RCTs were included in meta-analyses. Adalimumab was superior to placebo in reducing fatigue at 12 and 52 weeks in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n=3 and 2 RCTs; mean difference (MD)= -3.03, p<0.001; MD=-2.25, p=0.03, respectively). Golimumab (n=2 RCTs; 24 weeks: MD=-5.27, p<0.001), baricitinib (n=2 RCTs; 24 weeks: MD=-4.06, p<0.001), sarilumab (n=2 RCTs; 24 weeks: MD=-3.15, p<0.001), tocilizumab (n=3 RCTs; 24 weeks: MD=-3.69, p<0.001) and tofacitinib (n=3 RCTs; 12 weeks: MD=-4.44, p<0.001) were also superior to placebo in reducing fatigue in RA. A dose/effect relationship was observed for sarilumab, tocilizumab and tofacitinib. In spondyloarthritis (excluding psoriatic arthritis), secukinumab was superior to placebo in reducing fatigue at 16 weeks (n=2 RCTs; MD=-4.15, p<0.001), with a dose/effect relationship also observed. The narrative results of the RCTs not included in the meta-analysis indicated that several other pharmacological interventions were efficacious in reducing fatigue, with reassuring safety results.
conclusionsSeveral pharmacological interventions are efficacious and generally safe for managing fatigue in people with I-RMDs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.