Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42841092›Full record

ReviewPain reports2026

A meta-analysis of pain intensity changes after placebo interventions in facial pain.

Sabir Saluja, Ahed H Kattaa, Bethany Shih, Mehma Jolly, Mensure Polat, Chris Antonio Lopez, Salaar Ahmed, Yuhao Huang, Paul D McGeoch, QiLiang Chen and 8 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Pain reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

18 authors.

Sabir SalujaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Ahed H KattaaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Bethany ShihDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Mehma JollyDepartment of UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Mensure PolatDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Chris Antonio LopezDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3802-4374
Salaar AhmedDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Yuhao HuangDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Paul D McGeochDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
QiLiang ChenDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Alice Huai-Yu LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Vafi SalmasiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Vivek P BuchDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Xiang QianDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Meredith BaradDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Michael LimDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Sean MackeyDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Ashwin G RamayyaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.

Funding

BLRD VA IK2 BX006567
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interpreting pain improvements after interventions in clinical settings is challenging because placebo effects can influence patient-reported outcomes. In clinical practice, pain intensity reductions of 30% or greater are commonly considered indicative of meaningful analgesic benefit. However, the likelihood of achieving such reductions after placebo interventions is not known. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to quantify pain intensity changes reported after placebo interventions in clinical trials of facial pain (FP). We systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and uncontrolled case series of FP treatments that included placebo or sham arms. The primary outcome was percentage change in pain intensity. The primary analysis focused on RCTs, with pooled effect sizes estimated using random-effects meta-analysis. Data from 115 studies (n = 3,208) were analyzed, including 71 RCTs (n = 2,128) and 44 uncontrolled case series (n = 1,080). Sham interventions yielded an average pain reduction of 29.73% (95% CI 24.09%-35.36%), with a prediction interval (-14.51% to 73.96%) among RCTs. Placebo responses varied by diagnosis (

Indexed as

Facial painMeta-analysisPlacebo effect

Identifiers

PMID42841092
PMCPMC13641656

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.