What do systematic reviews say?

Tetracycline suspension (250 mg, held in mouth 2 minutes then swallowed, four times daily for 5 days) vs placebo

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  5 days per outbreak
  Adverse event rates were comparable between groups.
  1 study
  GRADE not reported

Colchicine (0.5 mg three times per day) vs placebo

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  6 months
  There was a greater percentage of treatment interruptions in the colchicine group due to gastrointestinal adverse effects (Fisher's exact test P=0.009). The review noted potential evidence of harm at a dose of 1.5 mg…
  1 study · 43 participants
  GRADE not reported

Camel thorn (plant distillate) vs placebo

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  up to 14 days
  No evidence of drug side effects was observed.
  1 study · 93 participants
  GRADE not reported

LongoVital (herbal plus vitamin component) vs LongoVital (herbal component alone)

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  4 months
  Reported adverse events were minor and evenly distributed between the groups (Kolseth 2005).
  1 study · 40 participants
  GRADE not reported

Prednisone (oral, commencing 25 mg with phased dose reduction over 2 months) vs Montelukast (leukotriene receptor antagonist)

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes

  2 months
  The study reported more drug-related adverse effects for those treated with prednisone than montelukast.
  1 study · 40 participants
  GRADE not reported

LongoVital (herbal component alone) vs placebo

• Systemic interventions for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (mouth ulcers) 2012 · Cochrane All outcomes
  Reported adverse events were minor and evenly distributed between the groups (Kolseth 2005). 'Very few and mostly harmless side-effects' were observed (Bratel 2005).
  2 studies
  GRADE not reported

Low‐level laser therapy vs simple dressing

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for ulceration and other skin changes caused by nerve damage in leprosy 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  Studies not reported
  No studies found

Primary outcome: topical local anaesthetics vs infiltrated local anaesthetics or other topical agents

Primary outcome: topical local anaesthetics led to lower anaesthetic‐related adverse effects compared with infiltrated local anaesthetics or other topical agents; GRADE not reported.

• Topical anaesthetics for pain control during repair of dermal laceration 2017 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 0 [0, 0]
  11 studies · 1686 participants
  GRADE not reported

Alginate dressing vs hydrocolloid dressing

It is very uncertain whether alginate dressing changes proportion of participants experiencing adverse effects at 6 weeks compared with hydrocolloid dressing (very low certainty).

• Alginate dressings for venous leg ulcers 2015 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  RR 1.47 [0.53, 4.03]
  1 study · 40 participants
  Very low

Wax therapy vs foot soaks

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

• Interventions for ulceration and other skin changes caused by nerve damage in leprosy 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
  no estimate extracted
  Studies not reported
  No studies found