The Effect of Chinemys reevesii Gray Pharmacopuncture for Women with Knee Osteoarthritis

Article information

Acupunct. 2015;32(3):163-173

doi : https://doi.org/10.13045/acupunct.2015048

¹Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, Meridian & Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine, Dong-Eui University

²Dongbee Korean Medical Clinic

^*Corresponding author : Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, Meridian & Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine, Dong-Eui University, 62, Yangjeong-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, 47227, Republic of Korea, Tel : +82-51-850-8752, E-mail : kjjang59@empal.com

Received 2015 August 03; Revised 2015 August 25; Accepted 2015 August 26.

Abstract

Objectives:

The aim of this study is to determine whether Chinemys reevesii Gray pharmacopuncture is a clinically effective treatment for women with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods:

Female patients with knee osteoarthritis were recruited from May 1^st, 2014 to April 15^th, 2015 at the Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine of Dong-Eui University Korean Medical Hospital. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups. 4.0 ml of Chinemys reevesii Gray pharmacopuncture was injected at acupuncture points of the experimental group(n = 24) twice a week for three weeks. The control group(n = 24) received 5 % dextrose injections in order to identically stimulate the same acupuncture points of ST₃₅, ST₃₄, SP₉, SP₁₀, GB₃₄, LR₈, EX-LE₄, and EX-LE₂. The Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire(SF-MPQ), the Korean Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(KWOMAC), and the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions(EQ-5D) were recorded to evaluate treatment efficacy at first visit, after two weeks and four weeks from the initial visit.

Results:

40 patients completed the trial. The experimental group showed more significant improvement than the control group in the scores of SF-MPQ, KWOMAC, and EQ-5D. However, there was no significant difference between groups in a few of the assessment scales.

Conclusions:

Chinemys reevesii Gray pharmacopuncture can be an effective treatment in control of pain, improvement in function and health-related quality of life for women with knee osteoarthritis.

Keywords: Chinemys reevesii Gray pharmacopuncture; Knee osteoarthritis; SF-MPQ; KWOMAC; EQ-5D

Table 1

General Characteristics

Table 2

Average of SF-MPQ in Each Group

Table 3

Improvement of SF-MPQ in Each Group According to Treatment Period

Table 4

Comparison of the Improvement of SF-MPQ between Group A and B

Table 5

Average of KWOMAC in Each Group

Table 6

Improvement of KWOMAC in Each Group According to Treatment Period

Table 7

Comparison of the Improvement of KWOMAC between Group A and B

Table 8

Average of EQ-5D in Each Group

Table 9

Improvement of EQ-5D in Each Group According to Treatment Period

Table 10

Comparison of the Improvement of EQ-5D between Group A and B

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Article information Continued

Table 1

General Characteristics

		A Group (n=20)	B Group (n=20)	p-value
Age		62.50±5.81	61.75±6.60	0.820^*
Affected part (Both/Left/Right)		20(11/5/4)	20(11/5/4)	1.000^***
SF-MPQ	Sensory	12.20±6.08	11.20±6.85	0.445^*
	Affective	2.25±2.43	2.30±3.25	0.445^*
	VAS	5.35±1.42	5.30±1.13	0.862^*
	PPI	2.30±0.87	2.20±0.89	0.904^*
KWOMAC		31.10±12.77	32.05±18.79	0.698^*
EQ-5D		8.75±1.29	8.75±1.21	1.000^**

Values represent number or mean±standard deviation.

using Mann-Whitney U test, p > 0.05.

^**

using Student’s t-test, p > 0.05.

^***

using Chi-square test, p > 0.05.

Table 2

Average of SF-MPQ in Each Group

		Group A	Group B
Sensory	P0	12.20±6.08	11.20±6.85
	P1	7.10±3.97	8.20±6.31
	P2	5.00±4.10	7.80±6.80
Affective	P0	2.25±2.43	2.30±3.25
	P1	1.05±1.23	1.85±2.56
	P2	0.95±1.19	1.85±2.43
VAS	P0	5.35±1.42	5.30±1.13
	P1	3.70±1.42	4.45±1.50
	P2	2.55±1.54	4.35±1.57
PPI	P0	2.30±0.87	2.20±0.89
	P1	1.75±0.64	1.90±0.85
	P2	1.20±0.41	1.65±0.67

P0 : score before treatment.

P1 : score after two weeks from first visit.

P2 : score after four weeks from first visit(score after one week from final treatment).

Values represent mean±standard deviation.

Table 3

Improvement of SF-MPQ in Each Group According to Treatment Period

		Group A		Group B
		Z or t	p-value	Z or t	p-value
Sensory	P01	−3.417	0.001^*	−3.190	0.001^*
	P12	4.273	0.000^**	−1.235	0.217
	P02	−3.830	0.000^*	−3.476	0.001^*
Affective	P01	−2.111	0.035^*	−0.851	0.395
	P12	−0.491	0.623	0.000	1.000
	P02	−2.214	0.027^*	−0.543	0.587
VAS	P01	6.773	0.000^**	−2.549	0.011^*
	P12	−3.493	0.000^*	−0.541	0.589
	P02	−3.950	0.000^*	−2.708	0.007^*
PPI	P01	−2.887	0.004^*	−1.350	0.177
	P12	−3.051	0.002^*	−1.890	0.059
	P02	−3.700	0.000^*	−2.810	0.005^*

P01 : period from the first visit to the second week.

P12 : period form the second week to the fourth week.

P02 : period from the first visit to the fourth week.

p-value < 0.05 by Wilcoxon signed rank test.

^**

p-value < 0.05 by paired t-test.

Table 4

Comparison of the Improvement of SF-MPQ between Group A and B

		Group A	Group B	Z or t	p-value
Sensory	P01	5.10±5.95	3.00±3.60	−0.968	0.341
	P12	2.10±2.20	0.40±2.19	−2.004	0.049^*
	P02	7.20±5.55	3.40±4.12	−2.868	0.004^*
Affective	P01	1.20±2.40	0.45±2.11	−1.379	0.211
	P12	0.10±0.97	0.00±0.56	−0.485	0.698
	P02	1.30±2.68	0.45±1.99	−1.612	0.127
VAS	P01	1.65±1.09	0.85±1.31	−2.468	0.017^*
	P12	1.15±0.88	0.10±0.79	−3.544	0.001^*
	P02	2.80±1.44	0.95±1.40	−3.788	0.000^*
PPI	P01	0.55±0.76	0.30±0.92	−0.802	0.478
	P12	0.55±0.61	0.25±0.55	−1.845	0.127
	P02	1.10±0.91	0.55±0.69	−2.156	0.049^*

P01 : period from the first visit to the second week.

P12 : period from the second week to the fourth week.

P02 : period from the first visit to the fourth week.

p-value < 0.05 by Mann-Whitney U test.

Table 5

Average of KWOMAC in Each Group

	Group A	Group B
P0	31.10±12.77	32.05±18.79
P1	23.15±10.74	28.90±17.10
P2	17.05±8.84	28.00±18.44

P0 : score before treatment.

P1 : score after two weeks from first visit.

P2 : score after four weeks from first visit(score after one week from final treatment).

Values represent mean±standard deviation.

Table 6

Improvement of KWOMAC in Each Group According to Treatment Period

	Group A		Group B

	Z or t	p-value	Z or t	p-value
P01	3.287	0.004^**	2.084	0.051
P12	−3.928	0.000^*	0.688	0.500
P02	−3.922	0.000^*	1.915	0.071

P01 : period from the first visit to the second week.

P12 : period form the second week to the fourth week.

P02 : period from the first visit to the fourth week.

p-value < 0.05 by Wilcoxon signed rank test.

^**

p-value < 0.05 by paired t-test.

Table 7

Comparison of the Improvement of KWOMAC between Group A and B

	Group A	Group B	Z or t	p-value
P01	7.95±10.82	3.15±6.76	1.683	0.101
P12	6.10±5.42	0.90±5.85	−3.337	0.001^*
P02	14.05±9.83	4.05±9.46	−3.507	0.000^*

P01 : period from the first visit to the second week.

P12 : period from the second week to the fourth week.

P02 : period from the first visit to the fourth week.

p-value < 0.05 by Mann-Whitney U test.

Table 8

Average of EQ-5D in Each Group

	Group A	Group B
P0	8.75±1.29	8.75±1.21
P1	8.50±1.15	8.60±1.70
P2	7.75±1.29	8.65±1.35

P0 : score before treatment.

P1 : score after two weeks from first visit.

P2 : score after four weeks from first visit(score after one week from final treatment).

Values represent mean±standard deviation.

Table 9

Improvement of EQ-5D in Each Group According to Treatment Period

	Group A		Group B

	Z or t	p-value	Z or t	p-value
P01	−0.643	0.520	−0.755	0.450
P12	−3.066	0.002^*	−0.432	0.666
P02	−2.958	0.003^*	0.400	0.694

P01 : period from the first visit to the second week.

P12 : period form the second week to the fourth week.

P02 : period from the first visit to the fourth week.

p-value < 0.05 by Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Table 10

Comparison of the Improvement of EQ-5D between Group A and B

	Group A	Group B	Z or t	p-value
P01	0.25±1.37	0.15±1.27	−0.459	0.659
P12	0.75±0.85	−0.05±1.05	−2.798	0.008^*
P02	1.00±1.12	0.10±1.12	−2.412	0.020^*

P01 : period from the first visit to the second week.

P12 : period from the second week. to the fourth week.

P02 : period from the first visit to the fourth week.

p-value < 0.05 by Mann-Whitney U test.