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Table 5 Pooled estimates of SMCs (95% confidence interval) for pain intensity for included RCTs and observational cohort studies

From: The clinical course of low back pain: a meta-analysis comparing outcomes in randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and observational studies

  Pooled SMCs (95% CI)
  6 weeks 13 weeks 27 weeks 52 weeks
  n†   I 2 †   I 2 n†   I 2 n†   I 2
Cohorts 6 1.2 (0.7, 1.7) 99 9 1.0 (0.8, 1.3) 99 9 1.2 (0.8, 1.7) 99 11 1.1 (0.8, 1.6) 99
RCTs 60 1.0 (0.9, 1.0) 99 94 1.2 (1.1, 1.3) 100 101 1.1 (1.0, 1.2) 100 78 0.9 (0.8, 1.0) 99
p-value*   0.651    0.735    0.878    0.721  
Efficacy RCTs 15 1.0 (0.9, 1.1) 99 13 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) 100 16 0.9 (0.7, 1.2) 100 14 0.7 (0.5, 0.8) 100
p-value**   0.663    0.549    0.574    0.104  
Pragmatic RCTs 43 1.0 (0.9, 1.1) 99 81 1.2 (1.1, 1.4) 100 81 1.2 (1.0,1.3) 100 64 0.9 (0.8, 1.1) 100
p-value***   0.628    0.466    0.899    0.642  
Usual Care RCT arms     8 1.2 (1.0, 1.3) 99 7 1.3 (1.7, 1.4) 99 7 1.0 (0.8, 1.2) 99
  1. †Number of cohort studies and RCTs treatment arms. *Meta-regression comparison between cohort studies and RCTs. efficacy RCTs, **Meta-regression comparison between cohort studies and efficacy RCTs. ***Meta-regression comparison between cohort studies and pragmatic RCTs.
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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