Knee crepitus is not associated with the occurrence of total knee replacement in knee osteoarthritis - a longitudinal study with data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

Marcella Ferraz Pazzinatto, Danilo de Oliveira Silva, Fábio Mícolis de Azevedo, Evangelos Pappas

Open access · bronzeAbstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Brazilian journal of physical therapy. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it

0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 29% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

Economic and Humanistic Burden of Osteoarthritis: An Updated Systematic Review of Large Sample Studies.PharmacoEconomics · 2023
Pooled it
Knee Crepitus and Osteoarthritis Features in Young Adults Following Traumatic Knee Injury.Arthritis care & research · 2026
Article
"My knee is cracking" - What information is available on the internet about it? A systematic appraisal of the credibility, readability and accuracy of online information about knee crepitus.JSAMS plus · 2023
Article
Safety of Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis and Its Effect on Postoperative Pain and Quality of Life of Patients.Contrast media & molecular imaging · 2021
Article
Physical Therapist Management of Anterior Knee Pain.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2020
Review
What are the clinical implications of knee crepitus to individuals with knee osteoarthritis? An observational study with data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.Brazilian journal of physical therapy
Observational

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

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Marcella Ferraz PazzinattoPhysical Therapy Department, School of Science and Technology, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil; La Trobe Sports and Exercise Medicine Research Centre (LASEM), School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia.

Danilo de Oliveira SilvaPhysical Therapy Department, School of Science and Technology, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil; La Trobe Sports and Exercise Medicine Research Centre (LASEM), School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia.

Fábio Mícolis de AzevedoPhysical Therapy Department, School of Science and Technology, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: micolis@fct.unesp.br.

Evangelos PappasDiscipline of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) · BRLa Trobe University · AUUniversity of Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

OBJECTIVE(S): To investigate whether the presence of knee crepitus is associated with the occurrence of total knee replacement (TKR), quality of life and deficits in physical function at long-term.

methodsSetting - This observational study uses longitudinal data (up to 4-year follow-up) from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). Participants - 4566 participants. Main Outcome Measure(s) - Logistic regression models were used to test if baseline knee crepitus is associated with the occurrence of TKR. Linear mixed models with adjustment for confounding variables (age, gender, BMI and Kellgren-Lawrence grade) were used to test the association between baseline knee crepitus and longitudinal changes in the pain, self-reported physical function, quality of life and performance-based function.

resultsThe presence of knee crepitus at baseline does not predict the occurrence of TKR at 36 months (p=0.58 and 0.67 for right and left knees, respectively). The crepitus group presented a slightly knee extension strength decline from baseline to 48 months (p=0.03 for the right and 0.01 for the left knee; between group difference=2% for both right [95%CI=-0.12; -0.01] and left knees [95%CI=-0.13; -0.02]).

conclusionThe presence of knee crepitus is not associated with the occurrence of TKR in the following three years. Knee crepitus is associated with slightly declines in knee extension strength, but this does not seem to affect physical function and quality of life at long-term.

Indexed as

Arthroplasty, Replacement, KneeHumansLongitudinal StudiesOsteoarthritis, KneeQuality of LifeSelf ReportKneeKnee osteoarthritisQuality of lifeRecovery of function

Identifiers

PMID30292656

DOI10.1016/j.bjpt.2018.09.009

PMCPMC6630108

OpenAlexW2894856930

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

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.