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Rheumatology Advance Access published online on December 20, 2005
Rheumatology, doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kei252
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received July 21, 2005
Accepted November 11, 2005

Original Article

Acupuncture for osteoarthritic pain: an observational study in routine care

K. Linde 1 *, W. Weidenhammer 1, A. Streng 1, A. Hoppe 1, and D. Melchart 2

1 Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, Department of Internal Medicine II, Technische Universität München, Kaiserstrasse 9, 80801 Munich, Germany
2 Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, Department of Internal Medicine II, Technische Universität München, Kaiserstrasse 9, 80801 Munich, Germany; Division of Complementary Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
K. Linde, E-mail: Klaus.Linde{at}lrz.tu-muenchen.de


  Abstract

Objective. To investigate characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing acupuncture treatment for osteoarthritic pain under conditions of routine care in the framework of statutory health insurance in Germany.

Methods. Patients with chronic pain due to osteoarthritis (ICD-10 diagnoses M15 to M19) treated with acupuncture as the leading form of therapy were included in an observational study. Detailed questionnaires including instruments to measure pain intensity (numerical rating scales from 0 to 10), disability (Pain Disability Index) and quality of life (SF-36) were filled in before treatment, after treatment and at 6 months. Patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee and hip also filled in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire.

Results. A total of 736 patients were included in the main analysis. Seventy (10%) patients and 278 (38%) patients, respectively, suffered exclusively from primary osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, 239 (33%) from another type of osteoarthritis and 149 (20%) had more than one affected joint. On average, patients received 8.7 ± 3.1 acupuncture treatments. Statistically significant and clinically relevant improvements were seen in all subgroups both after treatment and at 6 months in all major outcome measures. In patients with osteoarthritis of the hip, the WOMAC sum score was 47.9 ± 20.7 at baseline, 34.8 ± 20.0 after treatment and 33.1 ± 22.2 at 6 months. The respective values in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were 51.7 ± 20.9, 34.1 ± 23.3 and 34.6 ± 25.1.

Conclusions. In this study, patients with chronic pain due to osteoarthritis reported clinically relevant improvements after acupuncture treatment. Due to the uncontrolled design and the high proportion of patients lost to follow-up, the study findings must be interpreted cautiously.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Complementary medicine; Osteoarthritis; Observational study..
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