Table 4.

Pooled rate ratio (95% confidence intervals) of side effects

	Crude rate
Characteristics	Active	Control	Rate ratio (95% CI)
Topical NSAIDs versus placebo:
No of patients with adverse events	108/577	85/531	1.02 (0.62 to 1.68)
No of patients withdrawn due to adverse events	16/577	6/531	1.51 (0.63 to 3.66)
Gastrointestinal events*	14/577	15/531	0.81 (0.43 to 1.56)
Central nervous system events†	14/577	14/531	0.90 (0.43 to 1.89)
Local events‡	119/577	71/531	1.14 (0.51 to 2.55)
Others	22/577	19/531	0.96 (0.57 to 1.63)
Topical NSAIDs versus oral NSAIDs:
No of patients with adverse events	101/408	89/356	0.99 (0.77 to 1.27)
No of patients withdrawn owing to adverse events	18/408	24/356	0.72 (0.37 to 1.38)
Gastrointestinal events*	36/408	44/356	0.74 (0.48 to 1.13)
Central nervous system events†	19/243	14/200	1.08 (0.55 to 2.13)
Local events‡	18/243	2/200	5.29 (1.14 to 24.51)§

^*Includes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea.

^†Includes dizziness and drowsiness.

^‡Skin reactions such as rash, itch, and burning.

^§P≤0.05.