The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7312 p213
14 August 2004

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First-line use of paracetamol for osteoarthritis in doubt

The recommendation that paracetamol should be used as first-line treatment for osteoarthritis is called into question by the authors of two studies published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases this month.

The first compared the effects of paracetamol with those of placebo in 779 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. The percentage of patients responding to paracetamol was as high as expected (52.6 per cent), but no symptomatic effect over and above placebo was observed (51.9 per cent of patients given placebo also responded)(2004;63:923).

The second study, sponsored by Pfizer, generated mixed results for paracetamol use in osteoarthritis. The study consisted of two crossover trials in which patients were given two of three treatments — paracetamol, celecoxib (Celebrex) or placebo (ibid, p931).