A comprehensive review of clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of drugs for the treatment of low back pain

Thomas J. Schnitzer; Aimee Ferraro; Elke Hunsche; Sheldon X. Kong

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2003.10.015

A comprehensive review of clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of drugs for the treatment of low back pain

Thomas J. Schnitzer, Aimee Ferraro, Elke Hunsche^*, Sheldon X. Kong

^*Corresponding author for this work

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

88 Scopus citations

Abstract

A systematic review involving 50 randomized controlled trials (4,863 patients) published since 1980 was undertaken with the objective of assessing efficacy and safety of low back pain (LBP) medications. The methodological quality of each trial was evaluated based on a standardized system. Quality scores ranged from 26 to 82 points on a 100-point scale (from 0 to 100), indicating an overall moderate quality of the trials reviewed. Limited evidence was found regarding the effectiveness of drug treatments for LBP and current studies focused on short-term usage of the therapies. Available evidence supported the effectiveness of non-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in acute and chronic LBP, of muscle relaxants in acute LBP, and of antidepressants in chronic LBP; safety results were heterogeneous. More rigorously designed trials should be implemented to establish comparative efficacy and safety of drugs used to treat chronic and acute LBP.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	72-95
Number of pages	24
Journal	Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Volume	28
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2003.10.015
State	Published - Jul 2004

Keywords

NSAIDs
analgesics
antidepressants
efficacy
low back pain
muscle relaxants
safety

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Nursing(all)
Clinical Neurology
Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

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10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2003.10.015

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title = "A comprehensive review of clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of drugs for the treatment of low back pain",

abstract = "A systematic review involving 50 randomized controlled trials (4,863 patients) published since 1980 was undertaken with the objective of assessing efficacy and safety of low back pain (LBP) medications. The methodological quality of each trial was evaluated based on a standardized system. Quality scores ranged from 26 to 82 points on a 100-point scale (from 0 to 100), indicating an overall moderate quality of the trials reviewed. Limited evidence was found regarding the effectiveness of drug treatments for LBP and current studies focused on short-term usage of the therapies. Available evidence supported the effectiveness of non-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in acute and chronic LBP, of muscle relaxants in acute LBP, and of antidepressants in chronic LBP; safety results were heterogeneous. More rigorously designed trials should be implemented to establish comparative efficacy and safety of drugs used to treat chronic and acute LBP.",

keywords = "NSAIDs, analgesics, antidepressants, efficacy, low back pain, muscle relaxants, safety",

author = "Schnitzer, {Thomas J.} and Aimee Ferraro and Elke Hunsche and Kong, {Sheldon X.}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported in part by Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. The authors are grateful to Ms. Simone Crespi and Dr. Joanne Abed for their editorial assistance and Ms. Jacqueline Clark for her assistance in the production of this manuscript. ",

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AU - Kong, Sheldon X.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported in part by Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. The authors are grateful to Ms. Simone Crespi and Dr. Joanne Abed for their editorial assistance and Ms. Jacqueline Clark for her assistance in the production of this manuscript.

PY - 2004/7

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N2 - A systematic review involving 50 randomized controlled trials (4,863 patients) published since 1980 was undertaken with the objective of assessing efficacy and safety of low back pain (LBP) medications. The methodological quality of each trial was evaluated based on a standardized system. Quality scores ranged from 26 to 82 points on a 100-point scale (from 0 to 100), indicating an overall moderate quality of the trials reviewed. Limited evidence was found regarding the effectiveness of drug treatments for LBP and current studies focused on short-term usage of the therapies. Available evidence supported the effectiveness of non-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in acute and chronic LBP, of muscle relaxants in acute LBP, and of antidepressants in chronic LBP; safety results were heterogeneous. More rigorously designed trials should be implemented to establish comparative efficacy and safety of drugs used to treat chronic and acute LBP.

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A comprehensive review of clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of drugs for the treatment of low back pain

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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