BMJ  2008;336:502-503 (1 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39490.608009.AD

Practice

Guidelines

Care and management of osteoarthritis in adults: summary of NICE guidance

Philip G Conaghan, professor of musculoskeletal medicine1, John Dickson, community physician in rheumatology 2, Robert L Grant, senior technical adviser at National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions, and medical statistician3, on behalf of the Guideline Development Group

1 Section of Musculoskeletal Disease, University of Leeds, Leeds LS7 4SA , 2 Redcar and Cleveland Primary Care Trust, Guisborough Primary Care Hospital, Guisborough TS14 6HZ , 3 Royal College of Physicians of London, London NW1 4LE

Correspondence to: P Conaghan, Section of Musculoskeletal Disease, Chapel Allerton Hospital, Leeds LS7 4SA p.conaghan@leeds.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Osteoarthritis refers to a syndrome of joint pain accompanied by functional limitation and reduced quality of life. It is the most common form of arthritis and one of the leading causes of pain and disability in the United Kingdom. The published evidence for osteoarthritis treatment has many limitations—typically, short duration studies using single drug treatments. However, people with osteoarthritis need to be aware of the treatments that represent core management and of the range of additional treatments available. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the care and management of osteoarthritis in adults.1

NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the guideline development group’s opinion of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets.


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