Updated recommendations for the patient management with hand osteoarthritis

A.M. Lila^1,2, L.I. Alekseeva¹, E.A. Taskina¹, N.G. Kashevarova¹

¹Research Institute of Rheumatology named after V.A. Nasonova, Moscow

²Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint disease characterized by cellular stress and degradation of the extracellular matrix resulting from macro/micro-injuries that activate pathological adaptive restorative responses, including pro-inflammatory pathways of the immune system. Hand OA is one of the most common localizations, and it is the second after knee OA in the prevalance. The article presents the classification of hand OA and provides data on the disease prevalence. The authors have reviewed in detail the current recommendations of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) for the diagnosis and treatment of hand OA. The article also discusses in detail the issues of drug therapy of hand OA, in particular, the possibility of using chondroitin sulfate. Clinical study results show that the use of chondroitin sulfate in patient s with OA (including hand OA) contributes to a significant decrease in the pain severity, slow disease progression, improve joints function and comorbid diseases course, and can reduce the need for NSAIDs.

Keywords: Osteoarthritis, hand osteoarthritis, clinical recommendations, SYSADOA, chondroitin sulfate, Structum.

For citation: Lila A.M., Alekseeva L.I., Taskina E.A., Kashevarova N.G. Updated recommendations for the patient management with hand osteoarthritis. RMJ. 2020;7:2–8.