Trial reportThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2015
Effectiveness of diclofenac versus paracetamol in knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial in primary care.
Trial report in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Paracetamol versus placebo for knee and hip osteoarthritis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Topical NSAIDs for chronic musculoskeletal pain in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Mildly Processed Natural Eggshell Membrane Alleviates Joint Pain Associated with Osteoarthritis of the Knee: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study.Journal of medicinal food · 2021Trial
- Early Musculoskeletal Pain Management in the General Practitioner's Office & E-Referral: A Multidisciplinary Expert Opinion.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- The effect of physical therapy and rehabilitation modalities on sleep quality in patients with primary knee osteoarthritis: A single-blind, prospective, randomized-controlled study.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2020Article
- Article
- Educational outreach visits to improve knee osteoarthritis management in primary care.BMC medical education · 2019Article
- Kidney function and use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs among elderly people: a cross-sectional study on potential hazards for an at risk population.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2018Article
- Move it or Lose it. Is it Reasonable for Older Adults with Osteoarthritis to Continue to Use Paracetamol in Order to Maintain Physical Activity?Drugs & aging · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe effectiveness of diclofenac versus paracetamol in primary care patients with pain caused by knee osteoarthritis is unclear.
aimTo assess the effectiveness of diclofenac compared with paracetamol over a period of 2, 4, and 12 weeks in patients with knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN AND
settingRandomised controlled trial in general practice.
methodThere were 104 patients included in the study, they were aged ≥45 years consulting their GP with knee pain caused by knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomly allocated to diclofenac (n = 52) or paracetamol (n = 52) for at least 2 weeks. Primary outcomes were daily knee pain severity, and knee pain and function measured with the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS).
resultsOver a period of 2- and 4-weeks follow-up, no significant difference in daily knee pain was found between the patient groups: estimated differences of 0.5 (95% CI = -0.2 to 1.3) and -0.2 (95% CI = -1.0 to 0.7), respectively. Over the 12-weeks follow-up, no significant differences were found between both groups for KOOS pain: estimated difference of -2.8 (95% CI = -10.7 to 5.1) and KOOS function of -2.7 (-10.6 to 5.0).
conclusionOver a period of 2- and 4-weeks follow-up no significant difference in daily measured knee pain severity was found between primary care patients with knee osteoarthritis taking paracetamol or diclofenac. Also, over a period of 12-weeks follow-up no significant differences were found regarding KOOS pain and KOOS function between both groups. Patients more frequently reported minor adverse events after taking diclofenac (64%) than paracetamol (46%).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.