Five pills out of everything tested clear what patients can notice
Across 192 trials in knee and hip osteoarthritis, five oral preparations had at least a 99% chance of beating the smallest pain drop patients notice. No opioid got past 53%.
What the study found
Only a handful of pill options clear the bar patients can feel
Across 192 trials in knee and hip osteoarthritis, five oral preparations had at least a 99% probability of beating the smallest pain reduction patients notice, among them diclofenac at 150 mg a day and etoricoxib at 60 and 90 mg. No opioid preparation got past 53%.
The caveat · Top pick is the one more people quit
Diclofenac at 150 mg a day, the most effective oral option in the network, also carried a raised risk of people dropping out because of side effects, so the ranking rewards a preparation more people stopped taking. Only English-language trials with at least 100 patients per group were eligible, which leaves the smaller ones out. This covers knee and hip osteoarthritis, not pain in general. Several authors declare consulting relationships with industry.