OE Journal

ORIGINAL ANALYSIS

Colchicine for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Colchicine, a well-known treatment for gout, has long been explored as a possible therapy for knee osteoarthritis because of its links to inflammatory pathways also seen in gout. Pulling together data from seven randomized trials, the results were surprisingly consistent: colchicine didn’t provide meaningful improvements in pain or function at 12, 16, or roughly 20–24 weeks. Safety didn’t raise major concerns, with adverse events similar to control groups, though some short-term gastrointestinal irritation was noted. The bigger issue is evidence quality—much of it is low or very low—so confidence in these findings remains limited. Better-designed, larger trials are needed to confirm whether colchicine truly has a role in knee OA management.