Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41366055›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Randomized open-label non-inferiority trial of paracetamol or celecoxib for patients with chronic low back pain.

Kazuhiro Hayashi, Kenji Miki, Hiroshi Ueno, Miho Sekiguchi, Young-Chang Arai, Takuya Nikaido, Yasuhiro Shiga, Masayuki Inoue, Hideki Kataoka, Yuya Kawarai and 9 more

Abstract readEquivalence Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

19 authors.

Kazuhiro HayashiClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Kenji MikiClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan. kenji-miki@umin.ac.jp.
Hiroshi UenoClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Miho SekiguchiClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Young-Chang AraiClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Takuya NikaidoClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Yasuhiro ShigaClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Masayuki InoueClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Hideki KataokaClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Yuya KawaraiClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Yoshiyuki KimuraClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Keisuke ShimizuClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Kazuhiro ShimoClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Yukiko ShiroClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Katsuyoshi TanakaClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
So TanakaClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Yoshiyuki HirakawaClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Kousei MiuraClinical Research Group, Japanese Association for the Study of Musculoskeletal Pain, Nagoya, Japan.
Masao YukiokaFaculty of Health Science, Osaka Yukioka College of Health Science, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pharmacological treatment is commonly used for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, very low-quality evidence exists for paracetamol as a treatment option for CLBP; therefore, recommendations are contradictory among the guidelines. This randomized controlled study aimed to compare the analgesic effects of paracetamol and celecoxib in a non-inferiority trial. This non-inferiority trial tested the hypothesis that paracetamol is as effective as celecoxib for the treatment of CLBP within a pre-specified non-inferiority margin. One hundred fifty-six patients with CLBP were considered eligible and randomly allocated to a group receiving paracetamol or celecoxib. The pain intensity was measured using a numerical rating scale as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were pain-related psychological variables, quality of life, and adverse events. One hundred thirty-nine patients completed the study (paracetamol, 70; celecoxib, 69). We observed that the mean differences in the NRS changes between the two medication groups from baseline to weeks two and four did not significantly exceed the non-inferiority margin. Paracetamol had a superior effect on pain-related psychological variables and quality of life compared to celecoxib. These results suggest that paracetamol provides analgesic effects comparable to celecoxib for CLBP, meeting the criteria for non-inferiority.

Indexed as

AcetaminophenAnalgesics, Non-NarcoticCelecoxibChronic PainLow Back PainAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementQuality of LifeTreatment OutcomeAcetaminophenAnalgesics, Non-NarcoticCelecoxibLow backNSAIDsPainParacetamolRCT

Identifiers

PMID41366055
PMCPMC12800242

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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.