Short-Term Effect of Topical Cetylated Fatty Acid on Early and Advanced Knee Osteoarthritis: A Multi-Center Study

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate if short-term topical treatment with cetylated fatty acid (CFA) cream reduces the detrimental effects of early and advanced knee osteoarthritis (OA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 113 patients (32 males, 81 females; median age 70.0 years; 95% CI: 69.0 to 71.4 years) with knee OA diagnosed according to American College of Rheumatology classification criteria. Each patient underwent knee X-rays, followed by a CFA topical treatment (two applications per day for one week). Before and after the treatment, patients completed a Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire. All knee X-rays were classified according to Kellgren-Lawrence scale. RESULTS: After one week of treatment, decreased Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index overall scores and sub-scale scores were observed in the whole cohort (p