Safety and efficacy of recovery-promoting drugs for motor function after stroke: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of drug interventions to promote motor recovery poststroke. Data sources: CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Study selection: Published human randomized controlled trials in which the primary intervention was a drug administered to promote motor recovery poststroke, vs placebo. Data extraction: Standardized pro forma used to extract safety and efficacy data; Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias assessment tool performed to assess risk of bias. Data synthesis: Fifty randomized controlled trials from 4,779 citations were included. An overall trend of high risk of attrition (n=27) and reporting bias (n=36) was observed. ..