Although paracetamol is widely used and recommended for the management of pain in osteoarthritis, accumulating data indicate that it lacks efficacy and is associated with severe adverse effects. A new meta-analysis adds further weight to calls for clinical practice and treatment guidelines to be updated to reflect the evidence.
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Acknowledgements
D.J.H. is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellowship. M.L.F. is supported by Sydney Medical Foundation and Sydney Medical School.
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D.J.H. researched data for the article. Both authors contributed to discussion of the content, writing the article, and reviewing and editing the manuscript before submission.
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D.J.H. declares that he is a consultant to Flexion, Nestle and Merck Serono. M.L.F. declares no competing interests.
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Hunter, D., Ferreira, M. Yet another death knell for paracetamol in OA. Nat Rev Rheumatol 12, 320–321 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2016.79
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2016.79