Pilocarpine vs no treatment/placebo: Dry mouth (xerostomia)
- Population
- Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region
- Intervention
- Pilocarpine
- Comparison
- no treatment/placebo
- Outcome
- Dry mouth (xerostomia)
Pilocarpine led to lower xerostomia (objective, LENT-SOMA scale) compared with no treatment/placebo; GRADE not reported.
What each review found
Current versions only| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Pilocarpine vs No treatment/placebo Xerostomia (objective, LENT-SOMA scale) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · 6 months postRT Pilocarpine led to lower xerostomia (objective, LENT-SOMA scale) compared with no treatment/placebo; GRADE not reported. Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane All outcomes | MD -0.40 [-0.69, -0.11] | 1 study · 39 participants | GRADE not reported |
Pilocarpine vs No treatment/placebo Xerostomia (dichotomous) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · End of RT; 3 months postRT Pilocarpine showed no clear difference in xerostomia (dichotomous) compared with no treatment/placebo; GRADE not reported. Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane All outcomes | RR 1.00 [0.92, 1.08] | 2 studies · 48 participants | GRADE not reported |
Pilocarpine vs No treatment/placebo Xerostomia (continuous, combined SMD) · Patients receiving radiotherapy on its own or in addition to chemotherapy to the head and neck region · Up to and including 6 months postRT It is very uncertain whether pilocarpine changes xerostomia (continuous, combined SMD) compared with no treatment/placebo (very low certainty). Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy (2017) · Cochrane All outcomes | SMD -0.35 [-1.04, 0.33] | 2 studies · 126 participants | Very low |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pharmacological interventions for preventing dry mouth and salivary gland dysfunction following radiotherapy 2017 · Cochrane All outcomes | 2016-09 | Not listed | Not assessed |
Related questions
The same intervention and outcome, asked in another population or against another comparator.
- Pilocarpine vs Artificial saliva · Patients with radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction · 1 review
How reviews are matched to this question
Reviews word the same question differently. Four decision models (TypeSafe's Jev, Liquid AI's d1-ultra, SubQ Snap and Baseten's Elephant) judged each wording of the population, intervention, comparator and outcome against the others; two wordings count as the same when at least three of them agree and none clearly disagrees, and findings count as this question only when all four elements match. Timing, setting and subgroup never split a question: they are shown on each finding.