Evidence map›Paper›PMID 7831624›Full record

Trial reportThorax1994

Prevention of further bone mass loss by nasal calcitonin in patients on long term glucocorticoid therapy for asthma: a two year follow up study.

M Luengo, F Pons, M J Martinez de Osaba, C Picado

Open access · bronzeAbstract readClinical TrialRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Thorax, 1994. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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

13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 111 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Evidence-based guidelines for the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: a consensus document of the Belgian Bone Club.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2006
    Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Prevention and treatment of systemic glucocorticoid side effects.International journal of dermatology · 2010
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.Current osteoporosis reports · 2009
    Review
  7. Medication-induced osteoporosis.Current osteoporosis reports · 2007
    Review
  8. Review
  9. 2002 clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in Canada.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2002
    Review
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
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

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

M LuengoHospital Clinic, Department of Medicine, Facultat de Medicina, Barcelona, Spain.
F Pons
M J Martinez de Osaba
C Picado
Hospital Clínic de Barcelona · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInjectable calcitonin is effective in reducing spinal bone loss in steroid-dependent asthma but side effects are frequent. In contrast, a nasal spray presentation has been shown to be effective and well tolerated in involutional osteoporosis. To test the efficacy of nasal calcitonin a two year prospective trial was conducted in 44 steroid-dependent asthmatic patients.

methodsAll patients received a calcium supplement of 1000 mg and were allocated randomly into two groups treated with either salmon calcitonin nasal spray (200 IU every other day, n = 22) or calcium alone (n = 22) for two years. All patients completed the first year of the study. Five patients in each group dropped out during the second year. In the calcitonin group one patient developed generalised pruritus and four lost steroid dependence, and in the calcium alone group five were no longer dependent on steroids. The efficacy of treatment was evaluated as follows: bone turnover assessed by biochemical markers, bone loss assessed by serial measurement of lumbar spine density, and rates of bone fractures.

resultsThe bone mass in the calcitonin group increased by 2.7% in the first year while in the group receiving calcium alone it decreased by 2.8%; this difference was significant. Calcitonin prevented more bone loss during the second year while the calcium alone group continued losing bone mass (-7.8%). The difference between means was 0.1077 (95% CI 0.0381 to 0.1773). Three new fractures occurred in both groups. No changes in biochemical parameters were detected in either group.

conclusionsCalcitonin given intranasally increased spinal bone mass during the first year of treatment and maintained bone mass in a steady state during the second year. These results suggest that calcitonin may be a useful agent to prevent steroid-induced osteoporosis. However, the lack of effect of calcitonin on the rate of vertebral fractures does not permit its recommendation for routine use in preventing steroid-induced osteoporosis.

Indexed as

Administration, IntranasalAgedAsthmaBone DensityCalcitoninCalciumDrug Administration ScheduleDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleFollow-Up StudiesFractures, BoneGlucocorticoidsHumansMaleMiddle AgedOsteoporosisCalcitoninCalciumGlucocorticoids

Identifiers

PMID7831624
PMCPMC475269
OpenAlexW1979368971

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.