Effects of calcitonin on lumbar spinal stenosis

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

There is some controversy about the effects of calcitonin (CT) on lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). This systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the strength of the evidence supporting the use of CT in the treatment of patients with LSS.

We performed an electronic search depicting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) through 4 databases from the date of database creation to January 2023. 3 different researchers conducted independent literature screening, data extractions, and quality assessments. The outcome measures included visual analogue scale (VAS), walking distance, and oswestry disability index (ODI). Meta-analysis and trial sequence analysis (TSA) were carried out using RevMan 5.4, Stata 16.0, and TSA 0.9. GRADE 3.6 was used to evaluate the evidence quality.

We accepted 9 studies with 496 participants. The meta-analysis revealed that CT offered no significant improvement in VAS, walking distance, or ODI in patients with LSS.

There is no evidence that CT has a benefit in patients with LSS, either alone or in combination with other treatments, or depending on the route of administration, according to the systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant RCTs.