[Italian consensus on Eular 2003 recommendations for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis]

The recommendations for the management of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee firstly proposed by the EULAR in 2000, have been updated in 2003. One of the most important objectives of the expert charged to provide these recommendations was their dissemination. Thus, the information generated may be used by each individual country to produce their own set of management guidelines and algorithms for treatment in primary care. The Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) and the Italian League against Rheumatism (LIMAR) have organised a Consensus on the EULAR recommendations 2003 with the aim to analyse their acceptability and applicability according to our own experience and local situations in the Italy. The results of this Consensus have demonstrated that a large majority of the EULAR recommendations are endorsed by the Italian experts. Furthermore, the final document of the Italian Consensus clearly indicated the need that specialists involved in the management of knee OA strongly encourage the dissemination of the EULAR 2003 recommendations also in Italy.