ACR

ACR 2024: Colchicine shows no benefit for knee osteoarthritis

November 22, 2024

Colchicine didn’t improve knee pain, function, or the size of synovial effusions in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) over a 12-week period, suggesting that colchicine may not be effective for treating knee OA symptoms.

Researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 120 participants with painful knee OA. Participants were randomized to receive either daily colchicine or placebo (1:1) for 12 weeks, with the primary outcome being changes in knee pain measured by the visual analog scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes included changes in the Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) subscales and in the size of sonographically-identified effusions.

No significant difference was observed in VAS pain reduction between colchicine and placebo groups (-1.1±2.3 vs. -1.5±2.6, p = 0.40). There were also no significant differences in KOOS subscores or size of synovial effusions between the two groups.

Source:

Samuels, J., et al. (2024, November 16). CoLchicine for Treatment of OsteoArthritis of the Knee: Clinical Outcomes from a 90-day Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Abstract #0790. Presented at ACR Convergence 2024. https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/colchicine-for-treatment-of-osteoarthritis-of-the-knee-clinical-outcomes-from-a-90-day-double-blind-placebo-controlled-study/