A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF GLUCOSAMINE-DIACEREIN AND UNIVESTIN – CHONDROITIN IN KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIC PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL
Background: Knee Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease showing increasing trend of occurrence in a population .It has lead to great morbidity and disability. Combinations which showed anti-inflammatory property and suppression of cartilage degeneration are better options for management of knee osteoarthritis. According to medical practice, quick relief within short period of exposure to drug therapy is preferred. This study was an attempt to compare the safety and effectiveness of diacerein-glucosamine and univestin-chondroitin combinations in knee osteoarthritic patients in a tertiary care hospital. These drugs are now prescribed by Indian physicians in the current scenario. Patients and Method: The study began only after getting the approval from Institutional Ethics Committee and obtaining Inform Consent from subjects. The study was conducted in the department of orthopedics in Pushpagiri Medical College hospital, Kerala. From140 patients who arrived at the Orthopedics OPD Pushpagiri medical college hospital, we sorted and selected only 64 patients based on the study criteria. We divided into two groups (32 each) one receiving diacerein-glucosamine and another receiving univestin chondroitin combinations. From these groups grade 1 and 2 patients are subdivided. They were assessed by WOMAC, KOOS, VAS, 6 minute walk test, and Standard ADR questionnaires (Naranjo’s) for measuring safety and effectiveness of drug combinations. Change in the short term effectiveness for both drugs measure was assessed before the start of treatment, and after 30 days of treatment. Conclusion: For Grade 1 patients both drugs were equally effective. But for Grade 2 Patients diacerein-glucosamine combination therapy shows more benefit than univestin-chondroitin. However, semi-synthetic drug combination showed more safety profile than synthetic drug combination in the short term treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Keywords : univestin –chondroitin , diacerein-glucosamine , OA , WOMAC , KOOS , VAS