Clinical trial: Gait Patterns After Intraarticular Treatment of Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Knee (NCT00731289)

Eligibility criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

          -  men and women between 35 and 80 years of age

          -  radiographically verified degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee (grade II or III
             according to the Kellgren and Lawrence classification)

          -  pain of at least 40 mm on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) at initial examination

          -  persisting pain for at least 6 months

          -  Lequesne-Score of at least 10 points

          -  good physical and mental status

          -  good compliance and agreement to participate in this study

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  non-degeneratively induced osteoarthritis

          -  rheumatoid arthritis

          -  ligamentous instability or complete resection of the meniscus

          -  Sudeck´s disease

          -  operations of the affected knee within the last three months

          -  varus or valgus deformity of more than 15 degrees

          -  patellofemoral arthritis

          -  intraarticular therapy of the affected joint within the last 6 months with hyaluronan
             and three months with glucocorticoids

          -  severe systemic diseases (tumor, exacerbated diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism)

          -  anti-thrombotic medication or regular medication with NSAID/psychiatric
             pharmaceuticals

          -  infectious diseases

          -  alcohol abuse

          -  drugs

          -  psychiatric diseases or suicidal tendencies

          -  involvement in another study

          -  non-compliance

          -  acute hemarthrosis or joint effusion

          -  allergic predisposition

          -  skin infections or skin diseases around the knee
No condition on gender to be admitted to the trial.
No healthy subjects accepted to join the trial.
Subject must be at least 35 Years old.
Subject must be at most 80 Years

Patient description (medical language): A 47-year-old woman comes to the office complaining of pain in the calf and knee when she bends down. The pain limits her activity. Her medical history is significant for osteoarthritis, for which she uses nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for the past two years. She is living with her husband and has 3 children. She doesn't smoke but drinks alcohol occasionally. Her vital signs are normal. On physical examination, there is a small effusion in the right knee. The effusion grew a little larger and she developed a tender swelling in the popliteal fossa and calf. Both the pain and swelling worsened as she bent and straightened her knee.

Patient description (patient's own words): I'm a 47-year-old woman, married with 3 kids. I don't smoke and I drink occasionally. I went to the doctor because of pain in my calf and knee when I was bending down. This has been limiting my daily activities. I have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis for which I have taken anti-inflammatory drugs for the past 2 years. The doctor saw a small fluid buildup in my right knee. This buildup became a bit bigger and I have a swollen calf. The pain is worse when I bend and straighten my knee.

Does the patient match the trial criteria? Entailment