tDCS vs sham: Patient‐reported pain intensity or pain relief (VAS, NRS or categorical scale)
It is very uncertain whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) changes pain intensity (0 to < 1 week postintervention) measured using… compared with sham (very low certainty).
What each review found
Include earlier review versions| Finding | Effect | Studies | GRADE certainty |
|---|---|---|---|
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) vs sham Pain intensity (0 to < 1 week postintervention) measured using visual analogue scales or numerical rating scales · adults with chronic pain It is very uncertain whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) changes pain intensity (0 to < 1 week postintervention) measured using… compared with sham (very low certainty). Non‐invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain (2018) · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | no estimate extracted | 27 studies · 747 participants | Very low |
Findings are shown side by side, never pooled across reviews.
The reviews
| Review | Searched up to | Included studies | AMSTAR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non‐invasive brain stimulation techniques for chronic pain 2018 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only | Not reported | list not extracted yet | Not assessed |
Studies behind the findings
None of these reviews ties its included studies to this outcome in the data here. Cochrane reviews and reviews with headline outcomes only do not list their studies yet.
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.