A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low-dose oral prednisolone for treating painful hand osteoarthritis

作者：Wenham Claire Y J; Hensor Elizabeth M A; Grainger Andrew J; Hodgson Richard; Balamoody Sharon; Dore Caroline J; Emery Paul; Conaghan Philip G^*

来源：Rheumatology, 2012, 51(12): 2286-2294.

DOI：10.1093/rheumatology/kes219

• hand OA
• treatment
• prednisolone
• MRI
• randomized controlled trial

Objective. Anti-inflammatory therapies are effective analgesics for OA. This study determined whether low-dose oral prednisolone (PNL) was an effective analgesic for hand OA. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of people with ACR criteria hand OA and baseline hand pain visual analogue scale (VAS) of %26gt; 40/100 mm. Participants received 5 mg PNL or placebo daily for 4 weeks. Pain VAS, disease activity VAS, Australian/Canadian Hand Osteoarthritis Index and joint counts were performed at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks. Primary outcome was the change in hand pain VAS at 4 weeks. Analysis of covariance was used for analysis, controlling for baseline values. To explore potential mechanism of action of PNL, non-contrast 0.2 Tesla MRI was performed on the most painful hand at baseline and 4 weeks. %26lt;br%26gt;Results. A total of 70 participants were recruited (57 women, mean age 61 years, mean baseline pain VAS 61.5 mm); 75% had more than one joint with definite MRI synovitis/effusion. At 4 weeks the adjusted mean reduction in pain VAS was 19.9 mm (PNL group) and 16.8 mm (placebo group) (P = 0.54). There were no statistically significant differences in VAS, Australian/Canadian Hand Osteoarthritis Index or joint counts between placebo and PNL groups at 4 or 12 weeks. A total of 20 participants in each group achieved an Outcome Measures in Rheumatology-Osteoarthritis Research Society International response. Baseline synovitis/effusion did not predict response to treatment. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion. This is the first randomized controlled trial of low-dose corticosteroid alone for painful hand OA, which demonstrated that short-term low-dose oral PNL is not an effective analgesic treatment for hand OA.

• 出版日期2012-12