SynthesisApplied health economics and health policy2022
Cost Effectiveness of Pharmacological Management for Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Applied health economics and health policy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy and safety of exercise modalities in knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Pooled it
- Beyond the Surgical Bill: Pharmacoeconomics and Real-World Utilization Across the Knee Osteoarthritis Care Pathway-A Critical Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Lived Experiences and Perceptions of People with Knee Osteoarthritis in Saudi Arabia:Saudi medical journal · 2026Article
- Impact of Symptomatic Slow-Acting Drugs on Inflammatory Pathways in Osteoarthritis: Therapeutic Advances and Future Challenges.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2025Review
- Novel approaches to the stratified management of knee osteoarthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2025Review
- Joint Efforts: A Review of Large Joint and Bursa Steroid Injections and Aspirations by Primary Care Physicians.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Review
- Review
- Relationship between ultrasonographic findings and subscales of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score in patients with early knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter study.Journal of medical ultrasonics (2001) · 2025Observational
- A Comprehensive Review of Current Management Trends in Medial Compartment Arthritis of the Knee Joint.Cureus · 2024Review
- Cost-Effectiveness of Glucosamine in Osteoarthritis Treatment: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Thermosensitive In Situ Gels for Joint Disorders: Pharmaceutical Considerations in Intra-Articular Delivery.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Immunohistochemical study on the distribution of telocytes in the knee joint components in a rat osteoarthritis model.Journal of physical therapy science · 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
11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveOsteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent, disabling disease requiring chronic management that is associated with an enormous individual and societal burden. This systematic review provides a global cost-effectiveness evaluation of pharmacological therapy for the management of OA.
methodsFollowing Center for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) guidance, a literature search strategy was undertaken using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Health Technology Assessment (HTA) database, and National Health Service Economic Evaluation database (NHS EED) to identify original articles containing cost-effectiveness evaluation of OA pharmacological treatment published before 4 November 2021. Risk of bias was assessed by two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist for economic evaluations. The Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) instrument was used to assess the reporting quality of included articles.
resultsDatabase searches identified 43 cost-effectiveness analysis studies (CEAs) on pharmacological management of OA that were conducted in 18 countries and four continents, with one study containing multiple continents. A total of four classes of drugs were assessed, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioid analgesics, symptomatic slow-acting drugs for osteoarthritis (SYSADOAs), and intra-articular (IA) injections. The methodological approaches of these studies showed substantial heterogeneity. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) were (in 2021 US dollars) US$44.40 to US$307,013.56 for NSAIDS, US$11,984.84 to US$128,028.74 for opioids, US$10,930.17 to US$27,799.73 for SYSADOAs, and US$258.36 to US$58,447.97 for IA injections in different continents. The key drivers of cost effectiveness included medical resources, productivity, relative risks, and selected comparators.
conclusionThis review showed substantial heterogeneity among studies, ranging from a finding of dominance to very high ICERs, but most studies found interventions to be cost effective based on specific ICER thresholds. Important challenges in the analysis were related to the standardization and methodological quality of studies, as well as the presentation of results.
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.