Methotrexate Treatment in Hand Osteoarthritis Refractory to Usual Treatments: A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the effect of methotrexate (MTX) on pain and structural progression in symptomatic erosive hand osteoarthritis (HOA). Methods This 1-year prospective, single-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study ( www.ClinicalTrial.gov , NCT01068405) followed up patients with symptomatic erosive HOA. Patients were randomised into two groups based on the drug that was administered: 10-mg methotrexate (MTX) per week or a placebo. The primary endpoint was the change in pain (determined using a visual analogue scale [VAS]) from baseline to 3 months. The secondary endpoints were pain VAS score at 12 months, clinical features (pain VAS score and function), radiographic features (the anatomical radiographic Verbruggen-Veys [VV] score and Gent University Score System), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 12 months. Results Sixty-four patients with HOA were randomised into either the placebo or MTX group. At 3 months, there was no significant difference in the mean decrease in the pain VAS score (mm) (MTX: 21.1 [standard deviation, 27.4], placebo: 11.7 [24.3]; p=0.2). At 12 months, according to the VV score, erosive joints progressed significantly more to a remodelling phase in the MTX group than in the placebo group (27% vs 15%; p=0.03). Joints with space loss appeared to be eroding less in the MTX group compared to the placebo group (8% vs 29%; p=0.2). Synovitis on MRI at baseline could be associated with the erosive structural evolution of non-erosive joints (p=0.02). Conclusions Weekly doses of 10-mg MTX showed no superiority over the placebo in terms of pain relief at 3 or 12 months. Clinical Trial Registration Number: This study was registered at www.ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT01068405).