Four RCTs (n=428) were included in the review. The authors reported that allocation concealment was adequate in 3 studies and double-blinding was used in 3 studies.
The analysis included 209 patients treated with 5-ASA (1 to 4 g once daily) and 219 patients treated with BDP (3 mg once daily). Treatment with 5-ASA resulted in induced improvement or remission of UC in 146 patients (69.9%) compared with 143 patients (65.3%) receiving BDP. The pooled OR was 1.23 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.85) when using ITT analysis and 1.43 (95% CI: 0.86, 2.39) when using per-protocol analysis.
There was no statistically significant heterogeneity between the studies.