Table 4. Summary of findings.
Surgery plus physiotherapy vs physiotherapy alone (Pain).
| Population: patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. Settings: inpatient clinics. Intervention: Surgery plus Physiotherapy Comparison: Physiotherapy alone Follow up: 3-, 6-months and 1-, 2-, 5- and 10-years | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Outcomes | WMD (95% C.I.) |
No of participants (RCTs) |
Quality of the evidence (GRADE) |
|
Pain (3-months): [10,26,28] VAS (0–10) Lower values indicate improved pain. |
WMD -0.39 (-1.02–0.23) |
300 (3 RCTs) |
⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate 1 |
|
Pain (6-months): [10,26,28] VAS (0–10) Lower values indicate improved pain. |
WMD -0.36 (-1.02–0.29) |
310 (3 RCTs) |
⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate 1 |
|
Pain (1-year): [10,26,28] VAS (0–10) Lower values indicate improved pain. |
WMD -0.67 (-1.23–-0.11) |
317 (3 RCTs) |
⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate 1 |
|
Pain (2-years): [10, 28] VAS (0–10) Lower values indicate improved pain. |
WMD -0.67 (-1.23–-0.12) |
261 (2 RCTs) |
⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderate 1 |
|
Pain (5-years): [29] VAS (0–10) Lower values indicate improved pain. |
WMD -0.30 (-1.54–0.94) |
109 (1 RCT) |
⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low 1 2 |
|
Pain (10-years): [31] VAS (0–10) Lower values indicate improved pain. |
WMD 1.00 (-0.24–2.24) |
90 (1 RCT) |
⊕⊕⊝⊝ Low 1 2 |
Abbreviations: VAS; visual analogue scale, MD; mean difference, CI; confidence interval.
1We downgraded by one level due to high risk of bias.
2We downgraded by one level due to a relatively small sample size.