Comparison of amitriptyline and placebo for the reduction of pain in children with polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis using serial N-of-1 trials to estimate population effect.
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 136
Description: Research questions. (1) Does low-dose amitriptyline in children aged 10-18 with active polyarticular-course juvenile rheumatoid arthritis reduce pain? (2) Can N-of-1 trials analyzed with Bayesian methods be used to estimate the population effect of a treatment?Results. The treatment effect was 0.68 cm (s.d. 0.84, 95% credible interval -0.92, 2.46). The probability that it was &lt;0 was 0.16.Methods. Six children (4 females, 10.3-16.3 years) were enrolled. There were 3 pairs of randomized, double-blinded treatments (amitriptyline 25 mg or placebo). Each treatment lasted 2 weeks, with a 1 week washout. The primary outcome was pain, measured by 10 cm visual analogue scale. Assessments were at the beginning and end of each treatment. A Bayesian statistical model was used to determine the treatment effect. Values &lt;0 indicated superiority of amitriptyline.Conclusions. There was no evidence that amitriptyline reduced pain in these subjects. Bayesian methods were used successfully to estimate population effects.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, page: 0837.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

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