Methocarbamol versus diazepam in acute low back pain in the emergency department: a randomised double-blind clinical trial
Abstract
Background Acute low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint in the emergency department and achieving effective analgesia can be challenging. Methods In this multicentre randomised double-blind clinical trial conducted at three EDs in Iran from August to November 2020, we assessed the efficacy and adverse effects of two muscle relaxants in patients aged 18 years or older who suffered LBP in the last 6 weeks. Group 1 received intravenous methocarbamol and group 2 received intravenous diazepam followed by a weight-based dose of intravenous morphine in both groups. Exclusion criteria mainly included non-spine aetiologies, cord compression, acute gastrointestinal bleeding, renal/hepatic insufficiency, pregnancy, breast feeding and unstable vital signs. Pain scores and adverse events were measured by a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at baseline and after 30 and 60 min by one of the researchers who was not involved with patient visits and was blinded to the intervention. We used t-test to assess the mean difference of NRS at 30 and 60 min. Results Out of 101 enrolled patients, 50 participants received methocarbamol and 51 diazepam. The baseline mean pain scores and demographic characteristics were not different between the study groups. Pain scores were reduced by both agents after 60 min, with slightly greater pain reductions in the diazepam group in comparison with methocarbamol (mean difference −6.1, 95% CI −6.5 to −5.7 vs mean difference −5.2, 95% CI –5.7 to −4.7, respectively,…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 101 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The Matrisome: In Silico Definition and In Vivo Characterization by Proteomics of Normal and Tumor Extracellular Matrices
- The Escherichia coli MG1655 in silico metabolic genotype: Its definition, characteristics, and capabilities
- In silico pharmacology for drug discovery: methods for virtual ligand screening and profiling
- In silico prediction of splice-altering single nucleotide variants in the human genome
- In silico clinical trials: how computer simulation will transform the biomedical industry
- In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.