Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38637804›Full record

SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2024

Predictors of success of pharmacological management in patients with chronic lower back pain: systematic review.

Alice Baroncini, Nicola Maffulli, Michael Mian, Raju Vaishya, Francesco Simeone, Filippo Migliorini

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

Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.1field-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, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Management of sacroiliac joint pain: current concepts.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Impact of education in patients undergoing physiotherapy for lower back pain: a level I systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Active and passive physical therapy in patients with chronic low-back pain: a level I Bayesian network meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. 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

6 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Alice BaronciniGSpine4, IRCCS Ospedale Galeazzi - Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy.
Nicola MaffulliDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University La Sapienza, 00185, Rome, Italy.
Michael MianInnovation Research Teaching Service (IRTS), Academic Hospital of Bolzano (SABES-ASDAA), Teaching Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
Raju VaishyaDepartment of Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Surgery, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi, 110076, India.
Francesco SimeoneDepartment of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Academic Hospital of Bolzano (SABES-ASDAA), Teaching Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
Filippo MiglioriniDepartment of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Academic Hospital of Bolzano (SABES-ASDAA), Teaching Hospital of the Paracelsus Medical University, 39100, Bolzano, Italy. migliorini.md@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7220-1221
Ospedale di Bolzano · ITIndraprastha Apollo Hospitals · INIstituto Clinico Sant'Ambrogio · ITMile End Hospital · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundConservative management is recommended as the first therapeutic step in chronic low back pain (LBP), but there is no available evidence regarding the possible effect of patients' baseline characteristics on the therapeutic outcomes. A systematic review of the literature was performed to investigate this point.

methodsIn February 2024, all the level I studies investigating the role of pharmacological management for chronic LBP were accessed. Data concerning the patient demographic at baseline were collected: number of patients and related mean BMI and age, duration of the symptoms, duration of the follow-up, percentage of females, Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The outcomes at the last follow-up were evaluated through NRS, RMQ, and ODI. A multiple linear model regression diagnostic through the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was used.

resultsData from 47 articles (9007 patients) were obtained. The analysis yielded the following significant associations: age at baseline and NRS at follow-up (r = - 0.22; P = 0.04), NRS at baseline with NRS (r = 0.26; P = 0.03) and RMQ (r = - 0.58; P = 0.02) at follow-up, RMQ at baseline and the same at follow-up (r = 0.69; P = 0.0001).

conclusionOlder age, higher BMI, presence of comorbidities, higher ODI and a long history of symptoms or surgical treatments do not reduce the efficacy of pharmacological management of chronic LBP. However, pharmacological therapy is not an effective option for patients with high baseline RMQ. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I systematic review of RCTs.

Indexed as

Chronic PainLow Back PainConservative TreatmentDisability EvaluationHumansPain MeasurementSurveys and QuestionnairesLow back painManagementPainRisk factors

Identifiers

PMID38637804
PMCPMC11025267
OpenAlexW4394926364

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.