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

Table 2 Comparative efficacy assessments of thiocolchicoside + nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug monotherapy

Outcome	TCC + NSAIDs (mean ± SD)/%	NSAIDs monotherapy (mean ± SD)/%	Pooled effect size (SMD/OR)	95%CI	aP value	Cochran’s Q	df	I2 (%)	Interpretation
Pain intensity reduction (visual analog scale)	-6.20 ± 0.70	-5.10 ± 0.85	SMD: -1.33	-1.45 to -1.22	< 0.001	12.59	5	60.3	TCC + NSAIDs significantly reduced pain intensity compared to NSAIDs alone, with a large effect size. Found moderate heterogeneity
Functional improvement (hand-to-floor distance)	-18.20 ± 2.70	-15.10 ± 3.50	SMD: -1.08	-1.24 to -0.92	< 0.001	4.71	1	78.8	Combination therapy resulted in significantly greater functional improvement in reducing disability. Found high heterogeneity
Time to achieve > 30% pain relief (%)	86.60 ± 7.20	48.30 ± 10.00	OR = 6.71	3.48-13.10	< 0.001	3.065	2	34.7	Patients were 6.7 times more likely to achieve > 30% pain relief with combination therapy than with monotherapy
Time to achieve > 50% pain relief (%)	63.00 ± 10.50	22.80 ± 11.40	OR = 5.19	3.02-9.21	< 0.001	0.33	1	0	Combination therapy significantly increased the likelihood of achieving > 50% pain relief by a factor of approximately 5.2 times compared to monotherapy. No heterogeneity
Postsurgery pain reduction (day 3-numerical pain scale)	-4.45 ± 1.30	-3.40 ± 1.40	SMD: -0.84	-1.08 to -0.60	< 0.001	73.46	2	97.3	TCC + NSAIDs achieved better pain reduction after surgery compared to NSAID monotherapy, with a moderate to large effect. High heterogeneity
Patient satisfaction (%) (very satisfied)	69.00 ± 10.00	19.60 ± 6.50	OR = 10.14	5.48-19.50	< 0.001	9.15	1	89	Satisfaction with analgesia was substantially higher in the combination therapy group, making patients 10 times more likely to be satisfied. High heterogeneity
Adverse events (%) (mild/moderate)	157	12.1	OR = 1.30	0.68-2.48	0.378	4.01	1	75.1	No statistically significant difference in mild or moderate adverse events between the two groups, confirming the safety of the combination therapy. High heterogeneity

^aP < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

NSAID: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; OR: Odds ratio; SMD: Standardised mean difference; TCC: Thiocolchicoside.