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. 2020 Apr 6;2020(4):CD004198. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004198.pub4

Summary of findings 2. Sildenafil versus placebo.

Sildenafil 50 mg compared with placebo for stuttering priapism
Patient or population: men and boys with SCD and stuttering priapism
Settings: outpatients
Intervention: sildenafil 50 mg daily
Comparison: placebo
Outcomes Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) Relative effect
 (95% CI) No. of Participants
 (studies) Certainty/quality of the evidence
 (GRADE) Comments
Assumed risk Corresponding risk
Placebo Sildenafil 50 mg daily
Detumescence
Follow‐up: N/A
See comment See comment N/A N/A N/A This outcome was not measured.
Reduction in frequency of priapism
Follow‐up: 8 weeks
286 per 1000 166 per 1000
(20 to 1000)
RR
0.58 (95% CI 0.07 to 4.95)
13
(1)
⊕⊕⊝⊝
 lowa,b There was also no significant difference between treatments for the reduction in episodes of priapism by score tier: RR 1.17 (95% CI 0.36 to 3.76).
Immediate side effects of treatment
Follow‐up: 16 weeks
See comment See comment N/A 13
(1)
⊕⊕⊝⊝
 lowa,c Side effects of treatment were reported for the whole treatment phase including the open‐label phase. No significant differences were found between sildenafil and placebo.
Effect on later sexual function
Follow‐up: N/A
See comment See comment N/A N/A N/A This outcome was not measured.
Other untoward side effects of treatment
Follow‐up: N/A
See comment See comment N/A N/A N/A This outcome was not measured.
Efficacy of a prevention strategy
Follow‐up: N/A
See comment See comment N/A N/A N/A This outcome was not measured.
*The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across trials) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% CI is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI).
 CI: confidence interval; N/A: not applicable; RR: risk ratio.
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.

a Downgraded once due to unclear methods of randomisation and allocation.
 b Downgraded once due to imprecision: CIs around the relative effect are very wide as the trial has a low number of participants.
 c Downgraded once due to indirectness as we are only interested in the treatment phase but they have included the open‐label phase for reporting of adverse effects.