Rheumatology
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low-dose oral prednisolone for treating painful hand osteoarthritis.
Anti-inflammatory therapies are effective analgesics for OA. This study determined whether low-dose oral prednisolone (PNL) was an effective analgesic for hand OA. ⋯ This is the first randomized controlled trial of low-dose corticosteroid alone for painful hand OA, which demonstrated that short-term low-dose oral PNL is not an effective analgesic treatment for hand OA.
-
To critically review the evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of practitioner-based complementary therapies for patients with osteoarthritis. We excluded t'ai chi and acupuncture, which have been the subject of recent reviews. ⋯ There is not sufficient evidence to recommend any of the practitioner-based complementary therapies considered here for the management of OA, but neither is there sufficient evidence to conclude that they are not effective or efficacious.