Trial reportBMC musculoskeletal disorders2019
Non-pharmacological treatment gap preceding surgical consultation in thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis - a cross-sectional study.
Trial report in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Changing Habits With the Happy Hands App: Qualitative Focus Group Study of a Hand Osteoarthritis Self-Management Intervention.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Development of the Happy Hands Self-Management App for People with Hand Osteoarthritis: Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Occupational Rhizarthrosis Treated Surgically: Effects on Work Performance.La Medicina del lavoro · 2025Article
- Development of quality indicators for hand osteoarthritis care - Results from an European consensus study.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2025Article
- Evaluation of an e-self-management intervention (Happy Hands app) for hand osteoarthritis: Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- Patient characteristics and healthcare use for high-cost patients with musculoskeletal disorders in Norway: a cohort study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Participation in healthcare consultations: A qualitative study from the perspectives of persons diagnosed with hand osteoarthritis.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2023Article
- Negotiating Professional Tasks in a Hospital: A Qualitative Study of Rheumatologists and Occupational Therapists in the Management of Hand Osteoarthritis.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2023Article
- Patient Goals and Motivation for Thumb Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis Surgery.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2022Article
- Clinical evaluation of thumb base osteoarthritis: A scoping review.Hand therapy · 2021Article
- Task shifting in the care for patients with hand osteoarthritis. Protocol for a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- Article
- Substantial Increase in the Incidence of Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Base of the Thumb Between 1997 and 2019 in Finland.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) in the thumb carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ) is a prevalent disease which may lead to structural damage, severe pain and functional limitations. Evidence-based treatment recommendations state that all patients with hand OA should be offered non-pharmacological treatment. Surgery should be considered only when other treatment has proven insufficient in relieving pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate prior treatment and characteristics of patients referred to specialist health care surgical consultation due to CMCJ OA. The study includes exploring differences in pain and function between referred and non-referred hand, between men and women, and between patients with and without OA affection of other finger joints than CMCJ.
methodsPatients in this cross-sectional study reported prior non-pharmacological treatment for CMCJ OA. Patient demographics, disease and functional variables were assessed based on hand radiographs, patient-reported and observer-based outcome measures. Differences in pain and function between referred and non-referred hand, men and women, and between patients with and without additional affection of finger joints other than CMCJ, were analysed using Paired-samples T-tests, Wilcoxon Signed Rank, or Chi-Square tests.
resultsOne hundred and eighty patients were included. The mean age was 63 years and 79% were women. Only 21% reported having received non-pharmacological treatment before referral to surgical consultation. The results show a statistically significant worse function for referred hands, women and involvement of additional interphalangeal joints. Most patients reported no pain or mild pain in their referred hand.
conclusionsThe results of this study show a non-pharmacological treatment gap in OA care. Most patients report no pain or mild pain, and that they had not received non-pharmacological treatment prior to being referred to CMCJ OA surgical consultation. The results furthermore show that CMCJ OA negatively affects all aspects of function. Strategies need to be developed to improve OA care, including educating general practitioners in evidence-based treatment recommendations and in the assessment of hand pain, and encourage the routine referral of patients with symptomatic hand OA to occupational therapy before considering surgery.
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