Papers of the Week

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of joint disease and activity limitation in adults. Common therapies to treat OA-related pain are oral and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and intra-articular (IA) corticosteroids. However, prolonged courses of oral NSAIDs are associated with systemic adverse effects and repeat IA corticosteroid injections may cause cartilage degeneration. IA NSAIDs may be an alternative therapy possibly minimizing systemic side effects while maintaining efficacy. Therefore, we sought to summarize the pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy of IA NSAIDs to help providers make a more informed decision on the use of IA NSAIDs.