Characteristics of randomised controlled trials
| Trial | Design | OA | Duration | Mean age (range or SD) | Male/female | BPS (%) | Comparison (mg/day) | n1 | n2 | ES (SE) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | Control | ||||||||||
| OA, osteoarthritis; DB-C, double blind crossover; DB-P, double blind parallel; RCT, randomised controlled trial, no further information for blindness; BPS (%), percentage of baseline pain score relative to maximum pain score on scale: 0%, no pain; 50%, moderate pain; 100%, severe pain; Par, paracetamol; Dic, diclofenac; Cele, celecoxib; Ibu, ibuprofen; Rof, rofecoxib; Nap, naproxen; ES, effect size; SE, standard error; n1, number of patients in the treatment group; n2, number of patients in the control group. | |||||||||||
| *Only 6 week results were available for the primary outcome (pain at baseline and end point). The 2 year study mainly looked at the withdrawals due to lack of efficacy and side effects. | |||||||||||
| Paracetamol v placebo | |||||||||||
| Amadio 19836 | DB-C | Knee | 6 Weeks | 64 (43–38) | 3/22 | – | Par (4000) | Placebo | 25 | 25 | – |
| Zoppi 199527 | DB-P | Hip/knee | 1 Week | 56 (20–70) | 23/37 | 65 | Par (3000) | Placebo | 30 | 30 | – |
| NSAIDs v paracetamol v placebo | |||||||||||
| Case 200313 | DB-P | Knee | 12 Weeks | 62 (40–75) | 41/41 | 34 | Dic (150) | Par (4000) | 25 | 29 | 0.36 (0.28) |
| Par (4000) | Placebo | 29 | 28 | 0.09 (0.27) | |||||||
| Pincus 200325 | DB-C | Hip/knee | 6 Weeks | 63 | 195/329 | 51 | Cele (200) | Par (4000) | 178 | 168 | 0.14 (0.11) |
| Par (4000) | Placebo | 168 | 169 | 0.23 (0.11) | |||||||
| NSAIDs v paracetamol | |||||||||||
| Bradley 199110 | DP-P | Knee | 4 Weeks | 56 (11.6) | 47/137 | 50 | Ibu (1200) | Par (4000) | 62 | 61 | −0.04 (0.28) |
| Ibu (2400) | Par (4000) | 61 | 61 | 0.02 (0.18) | |||||||
| Geba 200223 | DB-P | Knee | 6 Weeks | 63 (39–91) | 121/261 | 60 | Rof (12.5) | Par (4000) | 96 | 94 | 0.14 (0.15) |
| Rof (25) | Par (4000) | 95 | 94 | 0.46 (0.15) | |||||||
| Cel (200) | Par (4000) | 97 | 94 | 0.16 (0.14) | |||||||
| March 19948 | n of 1 | Any | 6 Weeks | 64 (38–85) | 5/20 | – | Dic (100) | Par (2000) | 15 | 15 | 0.31 (0.37) |
| Pincus 200124 | DB-C | Hip/knee | 6 Weeks | 61 (19.6) | 67/160 | 53 | Dic (150) | Par (4000) | 112 | 115 | 0.28 (0.13) |
| Shen 200326 | RCT | Knee | 3 Months | – | Rof (25) | Par (4000) | 10 | 10 | 0.08 (0.45) | ||
| Williams 19939 | DB-P | Knee | 2 Years* | 60 (33–85) | 44/134 | 53 | Nap (750) | Par (2600) | 73 | 75 | 0.32 (0.17) |