OARSI guidelines for the non-surgical management of knee, hip, and polyarticular osteoarthritis

Bannuru RR, Osani MC, Vaysbrot EE, et al. · Osteoarthritis and Cartilage

Glucosamine is Level 5, strongly recommended against, for knee, hip and polyarticular osteoarthritis in every comorbidity class, with the panel's stated rationale 'no efficacy'. Glucosamine plus chondroitin is Level 5 for knee osteoarthritis in the comorbidity classes and for hip osteoarthritis in all classes, also 'no efficacy'. Chondroitin alone is Level 4A or 4B, conditionally recommended against, for knee osteoarthritis across the comorbidity classes, and Level 5 for hip and polyarticular osteoarthritis without comorbidities or with frailty, rationale 'low quality evidence'. Neither agent is named in the main text; the grades sit in Supplementary Tables 5 to 8.

Population

Guideline for knee, hip and polyarticular osteoarthritis: 60 interventions, PICO questions, GRADE evidence profiles and anonymous panel voting, with recommendations by joint and comorbidity class

Intervention

Non-surgical treatments graded by voting level; glucosamine, chondroitin and their combination are graded in the supplementary tables

Comparator

n/a

Limitations

A consensus guideline: voting was anonymous and, by the authors' own account, most recommendations rest on indirect evidence combined with expert opinion. The archived text is the accepted manuscript from a university repository together with the publisher's supplementary tables; the separate online evidence report was consulted but is not filed. Commissioned and funded by OARSI; no panel member is employed by a pharmaceutical or device company.