Table 1.

Systematic review of methotrexate use in osteoarthritis

Reference	n	Site	Treatment	Outcome
de Holanda 2007 [37]	58	Knee OA	Double-blind, placebo controlled, 4 months, 7.5 mg/week	No statistically significant difference between both groups regarding WOMAC (P = 0.94), Lequèsne Algofunctional Index (P = 0.87) and VAS (P = 0.89. No significant difference in paracetamol consumption between both groups, however, there was tendency to increased consumption in the placebo group.
Pavelka 2006 [38]	21	Erosive hand OA	Open label, 10 mg of MTX orally for two months	Significant decrease of pain after 2 months of treatment (54.4 ± 17.0 mm versus 39.7 ± 19.6 mm, P <0.01) and stiffness (28.8 ± 24 min versus 21.8 ± 19.1 min, P <0.01)
Chollet-Janin 2007 [39]	5	CPPD	Open label, 5 to 20 mg/week	Clinical response in all 5 patients with significant reduction in pain intensity, swollen and tender joint counts and mean improvement time of 7.4 weeks

CPPD, calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease; MTX, methotrexate; OA, osteoarthritis; VAS, visual analogue scale; WOMAC, Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index.