RACGP release guidelines for the management of knee and hip osteoarthritis

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) first developed Guidelines for the non-surgical management of hip and knee osteoarthritis in 2009. Since then, there has been substantial progress in evaluating the effectiveness and safety of commonly used and new therapies for osteoarthritis (OA). The objective of this new guideline is to present the best available, current scientific evidence for OA interventions, covering all interventions other than joint replacement for the hip and knee.

GUIDELINES CAN BE FOUND HERE

The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach has been used to rate the quality of evidence and determine the strength of recommendations. Each recommendation is supported with information explaining what the intervention is, the rationale for the recommendation, and any associated harms. The intention is to provide sufficient information as to why the recommendation was made to enable a GP to discuss and recommend options for their patient.

Recommendations have been approved by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for a period of five years.

Publication Date : 17 September 2018