Clinical research of acupuncture moxibustion and traditional Chinese medicine external treatment of severe knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective To study the effect of moxibustion acupuncture and Chinese medicine external treatment for the severe knee osteoarthritis. Methods A total of 86 severe knee osteoarthritis patients were enrolled between December 2014 and December 2016, in Department of Integrated TCM & Western Medicine, Shijiazhuang first hospital. According to the enrolled sequency, patients were divided into observation group and control group, 43 in each group. The control group was treated with intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate of 2ml, and the observation group was treated with the combined acupuncture moxibustion and traditional Chinese medicine external treatment on the basis of the control group. Two groups were performed for 3 months of follow-up. The clinical effect, WOMAC values, VAS score and Lysholm scale, and the serum high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a) changes before and after the treatment were observed and compared. Results The total effective rate of observation group was 93.0% (40/43), while control group total effective rate was 76.7% (33/43), and the differences between two groups was statistically significant (χ2=4.441, P=0.035). After treatment, the WOMAC joint stiffness scores (3.2 ± 1.2 vs. 4.8 ± 2.1, t=4.338), joint pain (4.2 ± 1.3 vs. 5.9 ± 1.7, t=4.903), daily activities (14.5 ± 2.8 vs. 18.7 ± 2.9, t=6.832) in observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The VAS score (2.5 ± 0.8 vs. 4.1 ± 1.2, t=7.275) in observation group was significantly lower than the control group, while the Lysholm score (74.2 ± 3.7 vs. 67.4 ± 3.9, t=8.295) was significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05). The serum hs-CRP (8.34 ± 2.24 mg/L vs. 13.67 ± 2.54 mg/L, t=10.321), IL-1 (0.85 ± 0.11 ng/L vs. 1.32 ± 0.42 ng/L, t=7.099), TNF-a (98.67 ± 15.74 ng/L vs. 178.44 ± 26.53 ng/L, t=16.955) in the observation group patients were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions The acupuncture combined moxibustion and traditional Chinese medicine external treatment could treat severe knee osteoarthritis, improve the function of knee joint. Key words: Osteoarthritis, knee; Acupuncture; Direct moxibustion; Hot compress; Inflammatory cytokines