Diacerein for Knee Osteoarthritis

In people with knee osteoarthritis who have substantial knee pain and inflammation (effusion-synovitis on magnetic resonance imaging), does diacerein improve knee pain compared with placebo?In this randomized clinical trial that included 262 adults with knee osteoarthritis, knee pain, and effusion-synovitis, compared with placebo, oral diacerein (50 mg, twice daily) did not improve knee pain as measured on a visual analogue scale (range, 0-100 mm, in which 0 indicates no pain and 100 indicates unbearable pain) (mean difference, −1.3; 95% CI, −9.8 to 7.3) over 24 weeks.The findings of this randomized clinical trial do not support the use of diacerein for improving knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis with inflammation.

Corresponding Author: Guoqi Cai, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, China (guoqi.cai@utas.edu.au).

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