Key findings: adverse effects
| Study | Risk-of-bias | Monitoring | Adverse effects | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkens et al30 | Low | Adverse events, blood pressure (bp) monitored every visit Fasting blood glucose, cholesterol levels before and following intervention | Adverse events (n=86), 40 in glucosamine group, 46 in placebo group. ∼30% of patients had adverse events 10 patients withdrew due to adverse events Adverse events: mild gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms. All self-limiting Fasting blood glucose, cholesterol and bp did not alter | 1 patient died in glucosamine group 1 participant in each group developed a disc herniation requiring surgery, events not considered study related |
| Tant et al31 | High | Patients interviewed at clinic visit regarding undesirable effects | Abdominal discomfort reported at 8 weeks by 1 patient in the glucosamine group and 1in the control group None of the patients discontinued treatment due to an adverse event | Adverse effect may have been due to analgesic/anti-inflammatory treatment instead of glucosamine as abdominal discomfort also occurred in 1 patient not receiving glucosamine |
| Leffler et al32 | Low | Patient survey of toxicity symptoms and faecal occult blood testing at end of each phase Bp and pulse measured 21 patients had blood count and coagulation studies carried out | No patients reported symptoms requiring termination of the study Symptom frequency on medication was similar to that at baseline Vital signs, occult blood testing and haematological parameters did not change significantly from placebo to medication |