Table 3 Evidence of efficacy—pooled effect size (ES) and number needed to treat (NNT) for hand OA.
| Intervention* | Studies | ESpain (95% CI) | ESfunction (95% CI) | NNT (95% CI) | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level* | No of studies (patients) | Duration | |||||
| Education+exercise v OA information | Ib | 1 (40) | 3 months | – | – | 2 (1 to 6) | 19 |
| Splint (full v half) | Ia | 2 (47) | 1 week | 0.64 (0.02 to 1.26) | – | 4 (2 to 13) | 21, 22 |
| NSAIDs | Ia | 2 (654) | 2–4 weeks | 0.40 (0.20 to 0.60) | 0.17 (−0.03 to 0.36) | 3 (2 to 6) | 23, 24 |
| Topical NSAIDs | Ia | 2 (131) | 2–3 hours | 0.77 (0.32 to 1.22) | – | NS | 25 |
| Topical capsaicin | Ia | 2 (318) | 4 weeks | – | – | 3 (2 to 5) | 26 |
| Chondroitin sulphate | Ib | 1 (92) | 3 years | – | – | NS | 27 |
| Chondroitin polysulphate | Ib | 1 (130) | 3 years | – | – | 8 (4 to 166) | 27 |
| IA corticosteroid | Ib | 1 (40) | 24 weeks | NS | NS | NS | 28 |
| Surgery | Ia | 7 (384) | 3–66 months | ||||
| T+LRTI/IA v T | −0.17 (−0.57 to 0.24) | 0.03 (−0.37 to 0.44) | NS | 29 | |||
| TJR v T+IA | −0.3 (−1.07 to 0.47) | – | – | 29 | |||
*Compared with placebo, unless otherwise stated; †see table 1 for definitions
No, number of studies; ES, effect size of treatment compared with placebo unless otherwise stated; NNT, number needed to treat to obtain moderate to excellent (more than 50%) pain relief or symptomatic improvement; –, not available; NS, not significant; T, trapeziectomy; LRTI, ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition; IA, interposition arthroplasty; TJR, total joint replacement.