ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2020
Efficacy and Safety of Tongning Gel for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Multicentre, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Parallel, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Randomized Controlled Trials Studying Nonoperative Treatments of Osteoarthritis Often Use Misleading and Uninformative Control Groups: A Systematic Review.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2025Pooled it
- Study on the analgesic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Jingu Zhitong gel in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis through the IL-17, NGF-TrkA, and COX-2/PGE2 pathways.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Healthcare and Scientific Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis.Journal of healthcare engineering · 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
16 authors at 12 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tongning Gel (TNG) compared to placebo-controlled (PC) for knee osteoarthritis (KOA).
methodsA multicentre, randomized, double-blinded, parallel, placebo-controlled, clinical trial was performed in 576 patients (432 patients in the TNG group, 144 patients in the PC group), and 1 in the experimental group withdrew due to nonuse of drug. Patients were randomized to receive TNG or PC applied to knee skin at 3g per time, 2 times per day, which lasted for 3 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) pain score was used to evaluate the primary efficacy of TNG and WOMAC stiffness and physical function and total scores were used to evaluate the secondary efficacy of TNG. All participants who received at least one dose of study drug were included in the safety analysis. This trial has been registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (no. CTR20131276).
resultsPrimary efficiency outcome: there were significant differences in the decreased value of WOMAC pain score between two groups (
conclusionThese results of the trial demonstrate that TNG is superior to placebo in the treatment of patients with KOA, and TNG can improve other symptoms of KOA, such as stiffness and physical function. TNG is safe for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis as a whole.
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.