The Efficacy And Safety Of The Traditional Chinese Medicine Fangji Huangqi Decoction Combined With Mobic On Active Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized,Controlled Clinical Trial

Knee osteoarthritis(OA) is a degenerative disease of bone and joint characterized by swelling,pain,even difficulty in movement and joint deformity.Its pathological changes are complex,including cartilage injury,bone remodeling,excessive secretion of synovial fluid,joint cyst swelling,synovial inflammation(synovitis),bone marrow lesion,muscle weakness and atrophy.Subchondral bone structure changes and osteophyte formation caused by contraction eventually hinder joint movement.Knee osteoarthritis belongs to the category of ‘Bi' in traditional Chinese medicine.Fangji Huangqi decoction is a classical prescription of Chinese medicine from Synopsis of the Jin Kui Yao Lve.It was founded in Zhang Zhongjing of the Eastern Han Dynasty.It has the function of anti-rheumatism,which is called "dispelling wind and removing dampness" in traditional Chinese medicine.It has been widely used in clinical treatment of knee osteoarthritis.ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of Fangji Huangqi decoction in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis,and to provide reference for better clinical application of Fangji Huangqi decoction.Methods112 patients with knee osteoarthritis were enrolled in a single center(Longhua Hospital).They were randomly divided into treatment group(56 cases)and control group(56 cases).The treatment group was given Fangji Huangqi decoction + Mobic orally,while the control group was given Fangji Huangqi decoction placebo + Mobico orally.VAS,WOMAC,Lequesne and SF-36 scores were assessed before treatment,2,4 and 12 weeks after treatment.Results(1)After treatment,the VAS and WOMAC scores of knee osteoarthritis can be improved in both the treatment group and the control group.The VAS scores of patients in the treatment group are better than those in the control group at 2,4 and 12 weeks after treatment,and the WOMAC scores of patients in the treatment group are better than those in the control group.(2)The Lequesne index of knee osteoarthritis patients in treatment group and control group had no significant improvement.(3)The SF-36 score(PF,HT) of the patients in the treatment group was improved after treatment;the SF-36 score(RP,BP,VT)of the patients in the treatment group and the control group were improved after treatment;the SF-36 score(RP,VT)of the patients in the treatment group was better than the control group at 2,4 and 12 weeks after treatment,and the SF-36 score of the patients in the treatment group was evaluated at 2 and 4 weeks after treatment.The improvement of score(BP)was better than that of the control group.After treatment,the SF-36 scores(GH,SF,RE,MH)of the patients in the treatment group and the control group did not change significantly.ConclusionFangji Huangqi Decoction is effective and safe in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.