Placebo Effect Sizes in Clinical Trials of Knee Osteoarthritis Using Intra-Articular Injections of Biologic Agents.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Patients with knee osteoarthritis rely on symptomatic treatments, in which up to 75% of the pain reduction can be attributed to the placebo effect. This effect may vary based on treatment type (eg, biologics vs nonbiologic injection) and route of administration (eg, intra-articular vs topical vs oral). The placebo effect is an integral part of treatment effect size calculation; thus, network analyses comparing efficacies of different treatments may be inaccurate. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that placebo effects differ between treatment types and route of delivery.

Methods

A systematic literature search was conducted in August 2019. Randomized trials comparing pain outcomes of oral, topical, or intra-articular placebo interventions to acti

SUBMITTER: Borst JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12307098 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature