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Taking peoplePhase 4

Capsaicin skin patch for painful finger osteoarthritis with nerve pain

Tests a capsaicin patch against low-dose capsaicin in adults with painful finger osteoarthritis.

Key facts

Who runs it
University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand
Where
France4 sites in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
Registry title
Capsaicin in Digital Osteoarthritis Versus Control
Status
Recruiting
Phase
Phase 4
People taking part
120 people, planned
Started
7 Mar 2025
Expected to end
1 Jan 2028
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets a sham (pretend) treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Capsaicin 179 Mg Cutaneous Patch
  • Capsaicine low dose 0.04 %
Record updated
13 March 2025

Who can take part

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The trial is looking for adults with painful osteoarthritis of the fingers that has a nerve pain part. It compares a capsaicin 8% skin patch with a low-dose capsaicin 0.04% patch.

Age
18 Years and older
Sex
All sexes
Disease stage
Finger osteoarthritis that meets the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Finger pain of ≥ 40 mm on a visual analogue scale (VAS), a pain rating line. The pain must have a nerve pain part (DN4 score ≥ 4/10).
Earlier treatment
Usual pain medicines and NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory painkillers) did not work well enough, caused side effects, or cannot be used. People cannot join if they used the 8% capsaicin patch in the year before the study. They also cannot join if they had certain treatments in the previous 3 months: corticosteroids given into a muscle, joint or vein, methotrexate, salazopyrine, or an injection into finger joints. Wearing wrist or finger braces in the previous month also rules people out.

Main reasons for not taking part

  • Arthritis only at the base of the thumb (isolated rhizarthrosis)
  • Other joint diseases of the fingers, such as gout, chondrocalcinosis, RA, spondyloarthritis or psoriatic arthritis
  • Other causes of nerve pain in the hand, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or diabetic neuropathy, or fibromyalgia
  • Skin problems on the fingers, such as psoriasis, wounds, ulcers, eczema, shingles or dermatitis
  • Poorly controlled high blood pressure or allergy to capsaicin

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 15 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Diagnosis of digital osteoarthritis fulfilling the American College of Rheumatology criteria
  • Presence of finger pain of ≥ 40 mm on a visual analogue scale (VAS)
  • Presence of finger pain with a neuropathic pain component (DN4 score ≥ 4/10)
  • Inadequate response, adverse reactions, and/or contraindications to conventional analgesics and NSAIDs

Who cannot take part

  • Patient who had 8% capsaicin patch use in the year prior to the study
  • Patient who has received intramuscular, intra-articular or intravenous corticosteroid therapy, another disease-modifying anti-rheumatic therapy (methotrexate, salazopyrine) or an intra-articular injection into the joints of the fingers within the previous 3 months
  • Patient wearing wrist or finger orthoses in the previous month
  • Patient with other joint disease affecting the fingers (gout, chondrocalcinosis, RA, spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis)
  • Patient with upper extremity pain syndrome that may interfere with the assessment of finger pain
  • Patient with another pathology responsible for neuropathic hand pain (carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetic neuropathy, Guyon's tunnel syndrome, cervicobrachial neuralgia, brachial plexitis)
  • Patient with hypersensitivity to capsaicin
  • Patient with isolated rhizarthrosis
  • Patient with skin lesions on the fingers (psoriasis, wounds, chronic ulcers, eczema, shingles, dermatitis)
  • Patient with poorly controlled high blood pressure
  • Patient with fibromyalgia

This trial has no sites in United States.

It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The objective of this multicentric, randomized controlled double-blind clinical trial is to demonstrate the efficacy of transdermal application of capsaicin in patients with painful digital osteoarthritis with a neuropathic pain component.

Read full original descriptionShow less

Participants will receive either a transdermal patch of capsaicin 179 mg (8%) or the control treatment (capsaicin 0.04%).

Researchers will compare the intensity of pain in the fingers at day 60 in the capsaicin 8% group versus capsaicin 0.04% (control arm)

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Capsaicin 8%Treatment being tested

    patch 179 mg, 30 min

    Treatment: Capsaicin 179 Mg Cutaneous Patch

  • Capsaicin 0.04%Sham treatment, for comparison

    patch low dose, 30 min

    Treatment: Capsaicine low dose 0.04 %

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov and on the EU's official list of trials (CTIS).
Official title
Capsaicin in Digital Osteoarthritis Versus Control : a Randomized Study
Plain-language title
Capsaicin skin patch for painful finger osteoarthritis with nerve painGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 14 November 2026.
Record updated
13 March 2025