Objectives: Clonazepam has been used in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) for several decades. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the efficacy of clonazepam in the treatment of BMS.
Methods: We conducted a search of the PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science (TS), and the Cochrane Library databases for relevant studies that met our eligibility criteria (up to September 22, 2015). Statistical analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.2 and STATA 11.0 software.
Results: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two high-quality case-control studies involving 195 BMS patients were selected for this study. Our results show that clonazepam can reduce the oral pain sensation in patients with BMS (WMD: -3.72, 95% CI: -4.57, -2.86; P < 0.05; for all five studies). A positive therapeutic effect was demonstrated for both short-term (≤10 weeks) application (WMD: -1.44, 95% CI: -2.06, -0.82; P < 0.05) and long-term (>10 weeks) application (WMD: -4.50, 95% CI: -4.98, -4.03; P < 0.05). Both topical (WMD: -1.50, 95% CI: -2.14, -0.85; P < 0.05) and systemic (WMD: -3.81, 95% CI: -4.63, -2.98; P < 0.05) administration of clonazepam were confirmed to be effective.
Conclusion: Clonazepam is effective in inducing symptom remission in patients with BMS.
Keywords: burning mouth syndrome; clonazepam; meta-analysis.
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.