Quantitative analysis of walking in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a method of assessing the effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory treatment

Article Abstract:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, are the medications of choice in treating patients with osteoarthritis. The effectiveness of drug therapy may be assessed by patients' subjective perceptions of pain diminution or by other more objective criteria. Analysis of locomotion, or the pattern of walking, can determine the extent of disability caused by arthritis and can be used to objectively assess any improvement mediated by treatment. Gait analysis was used to assess the effectiveness of naproxen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in 11 patients with osteoarthritis, aged 49 to 69. After one week of treatment, significant changes in gait were observed, including increased speed, stride length, swing velocity, and decreased stride duration, duration of support on both legs, and stance duration. Similar changes occurred in gait pattern during fast walking. Two patients who had walked dissymmetrically, an indicator of mechanical dysfunction, regained symmetrical gait with naproxen treatment. Pain relief, assessed by the patients, improved significantly, but was not correlated with changes in gait patterns. The findings suggest that objective assessment of drug therapy, such as gait analysis, is as important as pain assessment in determining the best treatment for patients with arthritis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Causes of, Pain, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, Gait disorders, Gait

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Intra-articular triamcinolone hexacetonide in knee osteoarthritis: factors influencing the clinical response

Article Abstract:

Injections into the knee joint of triamcinolone hexacetonide (THA) may alleviate pain for a few weeks in people with knee osteoarthritis. Researchers administered either THA or placebo to 84 patients with knee osteoarthritis, and followed them up for six weeks. Patients who received THA reported less pain one week after therapy. Patients who received placebo reported some improvement in pain over the six weeks. The most improvement was reported by THA recipients who had had excess fluid aspirated from the knee joint. Patients who had excess joint fluid but did not have aspiration also reported significant pain relief from THA. Injections of THA may be especially helpful for elderly people with knee osteoarthritis, as their treatment options are limited.

Triamcinolone

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Recommendations for the registration of drugs used in the treatment of osteoarthritis

Article Abstract:

A committee of doctors, scientists, and drug company representatives developed guidelines for designing scientific studies that test drugs for osteoarthritis. Drugs should be classified according to whether they treat symptoms, the disease itself, or both. Study patients should be selected based on specific joint involvement. Initial studies should evaluate the drug's safety. Further studies should determine effective drug amounts and the drug's effectiveness based on documented structural changes, pain, and joint function. Studies should be long enough to document significant changes in symptoms or disease progress.

Standards, Drugs, Testing, Clinical trials

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