Is diacerein an alternative for the treatment of osteoarthritis?

Among the possibilities for the management of osteoarthritis, different pharmacological alternatives have been proposed, being diacerein one of them due to its anti-inflammatory effect. However, diacerein clinical utility is not clear.

To answer this question, we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, conducted a meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

We concluded diacerein may lead to a slight reduction in pain and probably not improve functionality among patients with knee osteoarthritis and can frequently present diarrhea as an adverse effect. [corrected].