Efficacy and safety of methotrexate in osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Pooled result · Pain (knee and hand OA)Result — go to the resultSMD −0.44 95% CI −0.67 to −0.20Authors' conclusion
MTX can alleviate pain in patients with OA and improve functional recovery in knee OA without raising safety concerns.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with osteoarthritis (OA) (knee and hand); Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified in September 2024
- Participants
- 602 patients6 RCTs
- Comparison
- Methotrexate (MTX) vs placebo
- Outcome
- OA symptoms: pain and function
Methodological detailsMinimal clinically important difference (MCID) used for clinical significance, risk of bias (RoB) 1 tool, GRADE certainty assessment
- MCID used for clinical significance
- RoB 1 tool
- GRADE certainty assessment
Pooled result
Pain (knee and hand OA)
SMD
−0.44
95% CI −0.67 to −0.20
P = 0.0003
MTXvs Placebo
SMD −0.44 (95% CI −0.67 to −0.20); P = 0.0003
As reported in the abstract
Further pooled results
| Outcome | WMD (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Function, knee OA only | −7.36 (−14.34 to −0.38) | P = 0.045 | |
| −20−10010Difference (linear scale) |
Safety
| Outcome | RR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adverse events | 0.88 (0.75–1.02) | P = 0.09 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Efficacy and safety of methotrexate in osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. Published 9 April 2025. doi:10.
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