Osteoarthritis
The effect of opioid therapy on osteoarthritis progression
This report has been verified
by one or more authors of the
original publication.
Yonsei Med J. 2014 Sep;55(5):1379-85
200 patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA) were randomized to conservative treatment with loxoprofen, tramadol/acetaminophen, or transdermal fentanyl. The purpose of this study was to compare rate of OA progression in the three treatments. Patients were treated for 12 weeks with the allocated therapy, then radiographically followed-up. The results indicated that all patients experienced a significant pain reduction while there was no difference in average KL grade between the groups. Radiographic assessment revealed 3 patients treated with fentanyl exhibit radiographic signs of OA progression, while no patient of either the loxoprofen group or tramadol/acetaminophen group had radiographic signs of further joint degeneration. Further evaluation with a larger sample size and longer follow-up should be considered before conclusions can be drawn.
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