A Double-Blind, Active-Controlled Clinical Trial of Sodium Bicarbonate and Calcium Gluconate in the Treatment of Bilateral Osteoarthritis of the Knee

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of intra-articular injections of sodium bicarbonate with a single (SBCG1) or double dose (SBCG2) of calcium gluconate administered monthly compared with methylprednisolone (MP) for treatment of knee osteoarthritis. METHODS A 3-month, randomized, double-blind clinical trial with patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The outcome variables were the Western Ontario-McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Lequesne functional index. RESULTS After 3 months, all treatments significantly improved in overall WOMAC and Lequesne scores. Mean changes (95% confidence interval) in WOMAC total score and the Lequesne index, respectively, for SBCG1 (-12.5 [-14.3, -10.7]; -9.0 [-11.4, -6.7]) and SBCG2 (-12.3 [-14.3, -10.4]; -8.9 [-10.4, -7.4]) were significantly greater than for MP (-5.0 [-7.2, -2.8]; -3.2 [-4.9, -1.5]) (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Intra-articular injections of sodium bicarbonate and calcium gluconate are useful for short-term relief of OA symptoms in patients with bilateral knee osteoarthritis. Both treatments are more effective than MP injections in the reduction of knee OA symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00977444.