ReviewOsteoarthritis and cartilage2018
The relative efficacy of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and capsaicin in osteoarthritis: a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Review in Osteoarthritis and cartilage, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 6 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 87 citations in OpenAlex.
- Renal Safety of Topical Diclofenac in Adults with Increased Renal Risk: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Pooled it
- From regeneration to immunomodulation: a 20-year global bibliometric analysis of platelet-rich plasma for osteoarthritis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness and safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioid treatment for knee and hip osteoarthritis: network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of conservative treatments for hand osteoarthritis : An umbrella review of interventional studies.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2021Pooled it
- Platelet-rich plasma versus hyaluronic acid in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2020Pooled it
- Predicting response to topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in osteoarthritis: an individual patient data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Phonopheresis Associated with Nanoparticle Gel from Phyllanthus amarus Relieves Pain by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Proinflammatory Markers in Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2019Trial
- Pickering Emulsion Stabilized byFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Role of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in osteoarthritis: a comprehensive review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Biomechanical and biological features of hyaluronic acid in combination with chondroitin and platelet rich plasma for regenerative medicine applications.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Sweet Bell Pepper: A Focus on Its Nutritional Qualities and Illness-Alleviated Properties.Indian journal of clinical biochemistry : IJCB · 2024Review
- Evidence-Based Review of Nonsurgical Treatments for Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis.European journal of rheumatology · 2024Article
- Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1: A potential therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.Cell proliferation · 2024Review
- Knee osteoarthritis: disease burden, available treatments, and emerging options.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2024Review
- Natural medicine delivery from 3D printed bone substitutes.Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2024Review
- Overview of Ankle Arthropathy in Hereditary Hemochromatosis.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Strategies for Improving Transdermal Administration: New Approaches to Controlled Drug Release.Pharmaceutics · 2023Review
- Development of Capsaicin-Containing Analgesic Silicone-Based Transdermal Patches.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Foods of the Mediterranean diet: tomato, olives, chili pepper, wheat flour and wheat germ.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the efficacy of topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with topical capsaicin for pain relief in osteoarthritis (OA).
designA systematic literature search was conducted for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining any topical NSAID or capsaicin in OA. Pain relief at or nearest to 4 weeks was pooled using a random-effects network meta-analysis (NMA) in a Frequentist and Bayesian setting. Analysis was conducted for all trials and for trials using drugs listed as licensed for OA in the British National Formulary (BNF).
resultsThe trial network comprised 28 RCTs (7372 participants), of which 17 RCTs (3174 participants) were included in the as licensed analyses. No RCTs directly compared topical NSAIDs with capsaicin. Placebo was the only common comparator for topical NSAIDs and capsaicin. Frequentist and Bayesian effect size (ES) estimates were in agreement. Topical NSAIDs were statistically superior to placebo overall (ES 0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19 to 0.41) and as licensed (ES 0.32, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.39). However, capsaicin was only statistically superior to placebo when used at licensed doses (ES 0.41, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.64). No significant differences were observed in pain relief between topical NSAIDs and capsaicin (overall: ES 0.04, 95% CI -0.26 to 0.33; as licensed: ES-0.09, 95% CI -0.34 to 0.16).
conclusionsCurrent evidence indicates that topical NSAIDs and capsaicin in licensed doses may be equally effective for pain relief in OA. Whether the equivalence varies between individuals remains unknown.
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.