Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17431728›Full record

Trial reportClinical rheumatology2007

A 10-day course of SPA therapy is beneficial for people with severe knee osteoarthritis. A 24-week randomised, controlled pilot study.

Mine Karagülle, Müfit Zeki Karagülle, Oğuz Karagülle, Arif Dönmez, Mustafa Turan

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Clinical rheumatology, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
8.8field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Aquatic exercise for the treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016
    Pooled it
  5. Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015
    Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Trial
  16. Trial
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mine KaragülleDepartment of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Istanbul Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Millet cad. 126, 34093, Istanbul, Turkey. mkaragulle@tnn.net.
Müfit Zeki KaragülleDepartment of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Istanbul Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Millet cad. 126, 34093, Istanbul, Turkey.
Oğuz KaragülleDepartment of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Istanbul Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Millet cad. 126, 34093, Istanbul, Turkey.
Arif DönmezDepartment of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Istanbul Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Millet cad. 126, 34093, Istanbul, Turkey.
Mustafa TuranDepartment of Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology, Gülhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Istanbul University · TRGülhane Askerî Tıp Akademisi · TR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The objective of this study was to test if spa therapy can play a role in the management of severe knee osteoarthritis (OA). Twenty patients with radiologically and clinically severe knee OA were randomly assigned into spa and drug therapy groups. Spa group (n = 10) traveled to a spa town and stayed at a hotel for a 10-day spa therapy course. They followed a balneotherapy regimen including thermal pool baths at 37 degrees C for 20 min two times daily. Drug therapy group (n = 10) stayed at home and followed their individually prescribed drug therapy (NSAIDs and paracetamol). Patients were assessed at baseline (week 0), after spa therapy at 2 weeks (week 2) and during follow-up period at 12 (week 12) and 24 (week 24) weeks by a blinded investigator. Patients assessed with Lequesne algofunctional index (LAFI), pain (visual analogue scale, VAS), patient's and investigator's global evaluation (VAS), ten-stairs stepping up and down time, 15 m walking time and three times squatting up and down time. Significant improvement in pain and LAFI scores were found at week 2, week 12 and week 24 in the spa therapy group compared to baseline. Comparing the two group differences, spa therapy was superior to drug therapy in pain reduction and in physician's global assessment at all time points. This superiority was also found in LAFI scores and patients' global assessments at week 12 and week 24. A 10-day course of spa therapy may be beneficial in short- and medium-term up to 24 weeks by reducing pain and improving functional status and overall well-being in patients with severe knee OA and may be considered as an effective therapeutic tool for such patients in countries like Turkey where it is widely available and (at least partly) reimbursed.

Indexed as

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalArthralgiaBalneologyFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedOsteoarthritis, KneePain MeasurementPilot ProjectsRadiographySeverity of Illness IndexTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeWalkingAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal

Identifiers

PMID17431728
OpenAlexW1525237050

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.