Trial reportAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2003
Switching from NSAIDs to paracetamol: a series of n of 1 trials for individual patients with osteoarthritis.
Trial report in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term changes in management following n-of-1 trials of stimulants in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2007Trial
- The N-of-1 Trials and where to use them in Rheumatology.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2025Review
- Key concepts for informed health choices. 1.1: assumptions that treatments are safe or effective can be misleading.Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · 2022Article
- Status of N-of-1 Trials in Chronic Pain Management: A Narrative Review.Pain and therapy · 2021Review
- Designing Robust N-of-1 Studies for Precision Medicine: Simulation Study and Design Recommendations.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Article
- N-of-1 Design and Its Applications to Personalized Treatment Studies.Statistics in biosciences · 2017Article
- The n-of-1 clinical trial: the ultimate strategy for individualizing medicine?Personalized medicine · 2011Article
- Use of double-blind placebo-controlled N-of-1 trials among stimulant-treated youths in The Netherlands: a descriptive study.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2007Article
- Conducting research in individual patients: lessons learnt from two series of N-of-1 trials.BMC family practice · 2006Article
- First line treatment of knee osteoarthritis in outpatients in France: adherence to the EULAR 2000 recommendations and factors influencing adherence.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2005Article
- An overview of hip injuries in running.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2005Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate for individual patients who have been using NSAIDs regularly, whether paracetamol is as effective as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the treatment of pain and disability related to osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.
methodsA series of n of 1 trials were conducted in general practices in Amsterdam and the surrounding area. Each patient was his or her own control and received five pairs of treatments comprising two weeks of an NSAID and two weeks of paracetamol. For each pair, the order of treatments was randomised. Outcome measures were severity of individual main complaints, intensity of pain, satisfaction with drugs, function test, and side effects.
resultsThirteen patients were selected. Six patients did not complete the study. For five patients completing the study little or no difference was found between NSAIDs and paracetamol, for one patient the results favoured the NSAID, and for one patient there was no association between outcome and type of drug. It was recommended that six patients changed to paracetamol; the others continued with NSAIDs. Three months after the end of the study, four of the six patients for whom paracetamol had been recommended were taking NSAIDs for practical reasons or perceived lack of efficacy.
conclusionThe results of the n of 1 trials varied across patients. n of 1 trials can be used to investigate which treatment is best for any specific person, thus avoiding unnecessary prolonged treatment with NSAIDs. However, practical reasons may cause patients to switch from NSAIDs to paracetamol or not.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.