Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41737302›Full record

ArticleJournal of pain research2026

Intravenous Pamidronate in Persistent Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS): A Retrospective Observational Study on Effectiveness and Tolerability.

Daniël P C van der Spek, Frank J P M Huygen, Sanne E Hoeks, Paul L A van Daele, Maaike Dirckx

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Article in Journal of pain research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Daniël P C van der SpekDepartment of Anesthesiology, Center for Pain Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-5435-9906
Frank J P M HuygenDepartment of Anesthesiology, Center for Pain Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Sanne E HoeksDepartment of Anesthesiology, Center for Pain Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Paul L A van DaeleDepartment of Immunology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Maaike DirckxDepartment of Anesthesiology, Center for Pain Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Pamidronate is a nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate with immunomodulatory and anti-osteoclastic properties that has shown benefit in early-onset complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), yet evidence in persistent CRPS remains limited. Given that chronicity may attenuate therapeutic response, this study evaluates the effectiveness and tolerability of intravenous pamidronate in CRPS patients managed in routine clinical practice. Patients and Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective observational study, including all adult CRPS patients treated with pamidronate between 2014 and 2024 at our tertiary referral center. Data were collected from medical records at baseline, during treatment and at routine follow-up at approximately 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-months post-treatment. The primary outcome was the pain trajectory, analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model. Responders were defined by a ≥2-point NRS reduction or subjective benefit when NRS data were unavailable. Results: Of 110 eligible patients, 97 were included with a median age of 45 (IQR 32-54), and a median disease duration of 31 months (IQR 9-97). Baseline mean NRS was 7.95 (95% CI: 7.66 to 8.25), declining by 1.10 points (95% CI: -1.49 to -0.70; p<0.001) at 1 month and by 0.66 points (95% CI: -1.13 to -0.20; p<0.01) at 3 months. Responder rates were 34% and 22%, respectively. Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 91% of patients but led to discontinuation in only 6%. Conclusion: In patients with predominantly persistent CRPS, intravenous pamidronate was well tolerated and associated with a modest, short-term pain relief up to 3 months. No sustained analgesic benefit was evident at later timepoints.

Indexed as

chronic paincomplex regional pain syndromedrug-related side effects and adverse reactionsinterventional pain managementpamidronatetreatment outcome

Identifiers

PMID41737302
PMCPMC12927851

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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.