A recent study revealed that the combination of glucosamine (GS) and chondroitin (CS) is efficient and better to a certain extent when compared to other treatments for knee osteoarthritis. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the researchers aimed to assess the safety and effectiveness of the GS-CS combination for knee osteoarthritis management.

Electronic databases including The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, WanFang, Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), Embase, CBM, VIP, OVID and CNKI were searched for literature regarding the GS-CS combination to alleviate knee osteoarthritis.

For the assessment of the risk of bias, the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool was employed. In order to assess quality of literature and risk of bias, the Jadad scale was used. The total Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score and the pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score were also estimated. Review Manager 5.3 software was utilized to perform the meta-analysis.

A total of 8 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were incorporated which included 1 study in Chinese and 7 studies in English. A total of 3793 people were selected, out of which 1067 people received GS-CS combination and 2726 people received other therapies. In terms of WOMAC score, the combination group exhibited a considerable advantage when compared to the placebo group [MD = −12.04].

However, the other groups demonstrated no significance. Concerning the VAS score, not any of the comparisons displayed significance. Regarding secondary outcomes, not any of the comparisons exhibited a profound difference except the comparison of the WOMAC score between the combination and CS groups [MD = −4.70] and the comparison of the joint space narrowing (JSN) between combination and placebo groups (MD = −0.09).

According to the results of the safety analysis, none of the comparisons had major differences. Hence, the GS-CS combination appears to yield satisfactory outcomes in knee osteoarthritis patients.