Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee

An estimated 15.8 million adults, or 12.1 percent of the U.S. population 25 to 74 years old, have signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis,¹ making this group of conditions one of the most important public health problems among the musculoskeletal diseases. The study by Bradley et al. in this issue of the Journal ² is important and challenges the reflexive prescription of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for osteoarthritis. When a clinical trial shows no difference between treatments, it raises questions about the size of the Type II error, the comparability of the treatment groups, and the sensitivity of the outcome measures.