Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28400868›Full record

ReviewThe open rheumatology journal2017

Use of Saline as a Placebo in Intra-articular Injections in Osteoarthritis: Potential Contributions to Nociceptive Pain Relief.

David Bar-Or, Leonard T Rael, Edward N Brody

Open access · diamondAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The open rheumatology journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

David Bar-OrSwedish Medical Center, Trauma Research, Englewood, CO 80133, USA; St. Anthony Hospital, Lakewood, CO 80228, USA; The Medical Center of Plano, Plano, TX 75075, USA; Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, USA; Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc., Englewood, CO 80112, USA.
Leonard T RaelSwedish Medical Center, Trauma Research, Englewood, CO 80133, USA; St. Anthony Hospital, Lakewood, CO 80228, USA; The Medical Center of Plano, Plano, TX 75075, USA; Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs, CO 80907, USA; Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc., Englewood, CO 80112, USA.
Edward N BrodySomaLogic Inc., Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
Swedish Medical Center · USSomaLogic (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOsteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) is a severe debilitating condition characterized by joint pain, stiffness, and resultant limited mobility. In recent years, intra-articular (IA) injections have been used to relieve symptoms and have succeeded to varying degrees either with sodium hyaluronate preparations or with a biologic.

objectiveThe objective of this review is to evaluate multiple studies that demonstrate some relief from the symptoms of OAK in the saline arm of various clinical trials.

methodA thorough literature search (PubMed) was performed assessing the pain efficacy of various compounds compared to saline injections in clinical trials. A total of 73 studies were identified in the literature search including a total of 5,816 patients. These clinical trials all involved the IA injection of a viscosupplement (hyaluronate, platelet rich plasma (PRP),

resultsBased on our review of the current literature, the tested compounds performed with mixed results when compared to saline injections. Moreover, OAK is a variable disease, with severity measured on the Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) scale where various hyaluronate preparations have a therapeutic effect mostly on KL 2-3 patients while a biologic works best on KL 3-4 patients.

conclusionSince the effect of saline injection is always greater than no treatment, the evaluations of these treatments can be confounded in clinical trials. Therefore, the question of whether there are known therapeutic effects of saline injections might explain these results.

Indexed as

BiologicalsClinical trialNeuropathic painNociceptive painOsteoarthritisPain relief

Identifiers

PMID28400868
PMCPMC5366377
OpenAlexW2587485854

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.