Summary of findings 3. NSAIDs versus ethamsylate (control).
| NSAIDs versus ethamsylate (control) | ||||||
| Patient or population: women with heavy menstrual bleeding Intervention: NSAIDs Comparison: ethamsylate | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| Control | NSAIDs | |||||
| MBL at Rx (mL/cycle) | — | The mean MBL at Rx (mL/cycle) in the intervention groups was 42.88 lower (86.25 lower to 0.5 higher) | — | 82 (2 studies) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderatea | — |
| Proportion of women with no subjective improvement in MBL | Study population | OR 0.7 (0.23 to 2.12) | 50 (1 study) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowa,b | ||
| 481 per 1000 | 394 per 1000 (176 to 663) | |||||
| Moderate | ||||||
| 482 per 1000 | 394 per 1000 (176 to 664) | |||||
| Number of days' bleeding | — | The mean duration of menstruation (days) in the intervention groups was 0.4 lower (1.56 lower to 0.76 higher) | — | 46 (1 study) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowa,b | — |
| Quality of life | No study reported this outcome | |||||
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; MBL: menstrual blood loss; NSAID: non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug; OR: odds ratio; Rx: treatment | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: we are very uncertain about the estimate. | ||||||
aDowngraded one level for risk of bias (allocation concealment not stated). bDowngraded one level for imprecision (one small study).