Guest guest Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Hi all, See this [thanks to Nicholas Larkins for the alert]: Jorge Vas, chief medical officer1, Camila Méndez, epidemiologist2, Emilio Perea-Milla, chief medical officer3, Evelia Vega, chief medical officer7, María Dolores Panadero, pharmacologist2, José María León, professor4, Miguel Ángel Borge, chief medical officer6, Olga Gaspar, nurse1, Francisco Sánchez-Rodríguez, technician5, Inmaculada Aguilar, nurse1, Rosario Jurado, nurse1. AP as a complementary therapy to the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: randomised controlled trial BMJ 2004;329:1216 (20 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.38238.601447.3A (published 19 October 2004). 1 Pain Treatment Unit, Centro de Salud " Dos Hermanas A " (Distrito Sanitario Sevilla-Sur), 41700 Dos Hermanas, Spain, 2 Distrito Sanitario Sevilla-Sur, Alcalá de Guadaira 41500, Spain, 3 Research Support Unit, Hospital Costa del Sol, 29600 Marbella, Spain, 4 Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41018 Sevilla, Spain, 5 Servicio Andaluz de Salud, Servicio de Ordenación Sanitaria, 41001 Sevilla, Spain, 6 Municipal Medical Services, 41927 Mairena del Aljarafe, Spain, 7 Pain Treatment Unit, Centro de Salud " Castilleja de la Cuesta, " 41950 Castilleja de la Cuesta, Spain. Correspondence to: J Vas <jvas. Objectives:To analyse the efficacy of AP as a complementary therapy to the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, with respect to pain relief, reduction of stiffness, and increased physical function during treatment; modifications in the consumption of diclofenac during treatment; and changes in the patient's quality of life. Design: Randomised, controlled, single blind trial, with blinded evaluation and statistical analysis of results. Setting: Pain management unit in a public primary care centre in southern Spain, over a period of two years. Participants: 97 outpatients presenting with osteoarthritis of the knee. Interventions: Patients were randomly separated into two groups, one receiving AP plus diclofenac (n = 48) and the other placebo AP plus diclofenac (n = 49). Main outcome measures: The clinical variables examined included intensity of pain as measured by a visual analogue scale; pain, stiffness, and physical function subscales of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index; dosage of diclofenac taken during treatment; and the profile of quality of life in the chronically ill (PQLC) instrument, evaluated before and after the treatment programme. Results: 88 patients completed the trial. In the intention to treat analysis, the WOMAC index presented a greater reduction in the intervention group than in the control group (mean difference 23.9, 95% confidence interval 15.0 to 32.8) The reduction was greater in the subscale of functional activity. The same result was observed in the pain visual analogue scale, with a reduction of 26.6 (18.5 to 34.8). The PQLC results indicate that AP treatment produces significant changes in physical capability (P = 0.021) and psychological functioning (P = 0.046). Three patients reported bruising after the AP sessions. Conclusions: AP plus diclofenac is more effective than placebo AP plus diclofenac for the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. Best regards, Email: < WORK : Teagasc, c/o 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland Mobile: 353-; [in the Republic: 0] HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0] WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm Chinese Proverb: " Man who says it can't be done, should not interrupt man doing it " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.