%0 Journal Article
%T Randomized Controlled Trial of Etodolac versus Combination of Etodolac and Eperisone in Patients of Knee Osteoarthritis
%A Navjot Kaur
%A Harinder Singh
%A Avinash Chander Gupta
%J Pain Research and Treatment
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/273695
%X Objective. To compare the efficacy and tolerability of etodolac versus etodolac in combination with eperisone in patients of Osteoarthritis knee. Patients and Methods. A prospective, randomized, open label, parallel group, comparative study was conducted in 60 patients of knee OA over a period of 2 months. Thirty patients received etodolac 600£¿mg once daily and 30 patients received eperisone 50£¿mg thrice daily in addition to etodolac 600£¿mg once daily for 8 weeks. Efficacy assessment was done on the basis of improvement in mean scores of spontaneous pain on Visual analog scale (VAS), pain on movement, functional capacity, joint tenderness, swelling, erythema on Likert scale, and patient's overall arthritic condition on a five-point investigator scale at the end of study period as compared with the baseline scores. Assessment of tolerability was done by recording the occurrence of adverse events. Data was analyzed using Chi square test and students t-test. Results. All the enrolled patients completed the study and were compliant to the treatment regimens that they were allocated to. Both the treatment groups showed a statistically significant improvement in all the efficacy parameters at the end of 8 weeks as compared to baseline ( ) with no statistically significant difference between the groups. Adverse events were few and mild in nature. Conclusion. Combination of etodolac and eperisone is as effective as etodolac alone in patients of OA knee. Thus, it is concluded that additional use of muscle relaxant has no adjuvant value in patients of OA knee and is not recommended. The study is registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India vide registration number CTRI/2013/03/003442. 1. Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic joint disease with a prevalence of 22%¨C39% in India, accounting for 30% of all joint disorders [1]. Symptomatic OA, particularly of knee and hip, is the leading cause of disability between the fourth and fifth decades of life [2]. The disease is characterized by the degeneration of articular cartilage, subchondral sclerosis, cyst, and osteophyte formation. These result in joint pain and tenderness, limited movement, crepitus, effusion, and inflammation [3]. Treatment is aimed at reducing pain, maintaining mobility, and minimizing disability. Pain control is of paramount importance in order to maintain quality of life in such patients. There is, however, no single ideal pain medication for management of arthritic pain. The WHO analgesic ladder advocates a stepped approach to the use of analgesics from these
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/prt/2013/273695/