Cochrane · systematic review · CD004959
Opioids compared to placebo or other treatments for chronic low‐back pain
Chaparro, LE, Furlan, AD, Deshpande, A, et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2013 · Cochrane Library
Back and NeckAMSTAR 2: not assessed
SoF tableOnly the outcomes this review put in its Summary of Findings table are listed (the Cochrane Handbook caps them at about seven per comparison). Its other analyses are not shown here.
Questions
7
current version
GRADE rated
7
No studies
0
Included studies
NR
No studies 0 · 0%Ungraded 0 · 0%Very low 3 · 42.9%Low 1 · 14.3%Moderate 3 · 42.9%High 0 · 0%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
Questions and results
Strong opioids compared to placebo for chronic low‐back pain
Population: people with chronic low‐back pain
| Outcome | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Mean pain intensity on a numerical scale. For example 0 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain) Strong opioids vs placebo | no estimate extracted | 6 studies · 1887 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency, publication bias |
Disability (higher ratings mean greater disability). Various instruments were used, for example 0% (no disability) to 100% (bed‐ridden) Strong opioids vs placebo | no estimate extracted | 4 studies · 1375 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency, publication bias |
At least 30% of pain relief or moderate relief Strong opioids vs placebo | OR 1.91 [1.41, 2.58] | 3 studies · 819 participants | Moderate Downgraded: risk of bias |
At least 50% of pain relief Strong opioids vs placebo | OR 1.89 [1.34, 2.66] | 2 studies · 750 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency |
Side effects ‐ Somnolence Strong opioids vs placebo | RD 6 | 5 studies · 2346 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Side effects ‐ Nausea Strong opioids vs placebo | RD 12 | 5 studies · 2346 participants | Low Downgraded: risk of bias |
Side effects ‐ Constipation Strong opioids vs placebo | RD 11 | 5 studies · 2346 participants | Very low Downgraded: risk of bias, inconsistency |