ReviewTherapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease2022
Intra-articular placebo effect in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a survey of the current clinical evidence.
Review in Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Contextual effects of mesenchymal stem cell injections for knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Cell-based versus corticosteroid injections for knee pain in osteoarthritis: a randomized phase 3 trial.Nature medicine · 2023Trial
- Non-Biologic Injections in Sports Medicine.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2026Review
- A Narrative Review on Intra-Articular Injection Therapies for Knee Osteoarthritis: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives.Orthopedic research and reviews · 2026Review
- Placebo response to intra-articular injections in knee osteoarthritis: magnitude, evolution over time, and influencing factors. A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression.EFORT open reviews · 2025Article
- A Multicentre, Double-Blind, Randomised, Non-Inferiority Trial of a Novel Single-Injection Intra-Articular HMDA-Cross-Linked Hyaluronate Gel for Knee Osteoarthritis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Advanced therapies in orthopaedics.EFORT open reviews · 2024Review
- Effects of the combination of various pharmacological treatments and exercise on knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.EFORT open reviews · 2024Article
- Article
- Comparative Effects of Intra-Articular versus Intravenous Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Therapy in a Rat Model of Osteoarthritis by Destabilization of Medial Meniscus.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Genicular artery embolization for treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2023Review
- An update on the effect of intra-articular intervention strategies using nanomaterials in osteoarthritis: Possible clinical application.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2023Review
- Osteoarthritis as an Umbrella Term for Different Subsets of Humans Undergoing Joint Degeneration: The Need to Address the Differences to Develop Effective Conservative Treatments and Prevention Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Article
- The Effectiveness Comparison of Different Acupuncture-Related Therapies on Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a debilitating disease characterized by chronic pain, stiffness, and decreased mobility. Intra-articular injectable therapies show good clinical efficacy in improving symptoms; however, these therapies and their comparators (intra-articular saline) have been associated with a large underlying placebo effect. We aimed to describe the existing evidence on the challenges, hypotheses, and potential solutions to mitigate the intra-articular placebo effect in clinical trials in KOA. A targeted literature review was conducted by searching Embase, MEDLINE®, and CENTRAL using predefined study selection criteria. All eligible studies identified were extracted for relevant data, and results were narratively summarized. Forty-three studies were included following screening. Challenges associated with the intra-articular placebo effect included its ability to mask the comparative efficacy of active treatments in trials (
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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.