Table 1 Systematic review of hydroxychloroquine use in osteoarthritis

[23]

8

Erosive hand OA unresponsive to NSAIDs

200 mg HCQ

6/8 noted improvement in pain, reduced synovitis and reduced morning stiffness

Response time 7/52 to 7/12. No adverse effects

[24]

15

Hand OA

Placebo-controlled HCQ

Improvement in clinical symptoms at 12 months (Ritchie index)

[25]

7

Erosive hand OA

200 to 400 mg HCG

Improvement in 7/7 patients noted

[26]

15

Hand and knee OA

HCQ 6/12

13/15 patients achieved good therapeutic response after 6 months

[27]

29

Knee OA

400 mg HCQ 4/12, placebo-controlled

No difference in WOMAC pain (P = 0.551), stiffness (P = 0.512) or function (P = 0.293); no difference on VAS (P = 0.461) or Lequesne (P = 0.803) scales

[28]

88

Nodal OA of the hands

HCQ 200 mg/bid, ACM 1.3 gm/tid or placebo 6/12

No significant difference between hydroxychloroquine, acetaminophen or placebo in mean number of tender joints at 24 weeks

[29]

8

Erosive or inflammatory OA

HCQ 200 to 400 mg

Clinical improvement in 5/8 patients, 3 patients discontinued (1 due to unresponsiveness, 2 due to side-effects)

[30]

Intra-articular chloroquine in RA and OA of knee joint

No abstract available