Therapeutic efficacy of thiocolchicoside-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination in pain management: A systematic review and cross-sectional real-world study

Table 1 Summary of selected study results on thiocolchicoside and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination compared to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug monotherapy

Ref.	Sample size	Indication	Intervention	Pain reduction (visual analog scale)	Disability/other outcomes	AEs
Akhter et al[25]	288	Lower back pain	D vs D + T	D: 7.31-1.35; D + T: 7.27-0.94 (from day 0 to day 7)	D + T significantly reduced hand-to-floor distance (P = 0.0005)	None reported
Iliopoulos et al[26]	134	Lower back pain	FDC vs D	FDC: > 30% pain relief in 91.9% of cases (3 hours) vs 57.4% in the D group T + D: 7.20-3.16; D: 6.52-4.45 (from baseline to 3 hours postinjection)	Superior improvement in finger-to-floor distance	Mild dizziness in 2 patients administered D
Meloncelli et al[21]	82	Lower back pain and neuropathic pain	D/T vs TRAM/DKP	TRAM/DKP: 95.5% > 30% reduction vs 71.1% in D/T (P = 0.003)	TRAM/DKP significantly reduced the douleur neuropathique 4 neuropathic pain score	TEAEs: D/T: 7.9%; TRAM/DKP: 18.2%; No serious AEs were reported, and none of the patients in the two groups discontinued therapy due to TEAEs
Patel et al[24]	300	Lower back pain	Muscle relaxant (T) + NSAIDs vs monotherapy	The combination group had a maximum disability index reduction of 54.66% ± 9.85%	Muscle relaxants are highly effective; gastrointestinal protection was given to most patients	None reported
Desai et al[27]	40	Lower back pain	T + A vs A	T + A: 77.55-9.85; A: 67.65-11.10 (P < 0.000)	Significant improvement in movement and restriction of motion in the T + A group	None reported
Sproviero et al[28]	223	Lower back pain	FDC (D + T) vs separate formulations	Similar reductions (mean: 56.92 mm vs 55.95 mm)	Muscle contracture improved equally (Schober's Index)	Test: 2.7% mild nausea; Reference: 0.9% injection site pain
Bourazani et al[29]	70	Postoperative pain (mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery)	NSAID + T (group A) vs NSAID only (group B)	Group A: 5.14-0.71; group B: 6.20-2.80 (P < 0.0001)	Group A reported higher satisfaction and fewer side effects	None reported

A: Aceclofenac monotherapy; AEs: Adverse events; D: Diclofenac monotherapy; D + T: Diclofenac and thiocolchicoside combination therapy; FDC: Fixed-dose combination; NSAID: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; T: Thiocolchicoside monotherapy; T + A: Thiocolchicoside plus aceclofenac; TEAEs: Treatment-emergent adverse events; TRAM/DKP: Tramadol/dexketoprofen.