Rate My Professor Gwyneth Steenson

Gwyneth Steenson played a key role as a research nurse in a Health Research Council-funded, three-year double-blind randomised controlled trial assessing the analgesic efficacy of nortriptyline for chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis. Led by principal investigator Dr Ben Hudson of the Department of General Practice, University of Otago, Christchurch, the study enrolled 205 adults with knee osteoarthritis and WOMAC pain subscale scores of at least 20. Participants were randomised to receive nortriptyline (titrated from 25 mg to 100 mg daily) or placebo for 14 weeks, in addition to their usual analgesia. The primary endpoint was the WOMAC pain score at 14 weeks, which showed a baseline-adjusted mean difference of 6.2 points lower in the nortriptyline group (95% CI −0.26 to 12.6, P=0.06), not reaching statistical significance. Secondary outcomes such as function, stiffness, patient global assessment, and quality of life exhibited small differences favouring nortriptyline, deemed clinically insignificant. The nortriptyline arm reported higher rates of expected adverse effects, including dry mouth (86.9% vs 51.0%, P<0.001), constipation (58.6% vs 30.4%, P<0.001), and sweating (31.3% vs 20.6%, P=0.033). Nortriptyline participants had fewer days using NSAIDs or paracetamol and lower NSAID doses. Findings were published in 2021 in the British Journal of General Practice under the title 'Nortriptyline for pain in knee osteoarthritis: a double-blind randomised controlled trial in New Zealand general practice'. During the study's recruitment phase in 2015, Steenson was documented examining participant Julia Carr, as highlighted in the University of Otago Bulletin and the University of Otago, Christchurch newsletter.