Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31673169›Full record

ArticleIndian journal of orthopaedics

Improved Pain and Function in Knee Osteoarthritis with Dexamethasone Phonophoresis: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Mohamed Ahmed Said Ahmed, Emad Samuel Boles Saweeres, Nasr Awad Abdelkader, Salwa Fadl Abdelmajeed, Ahmed Roshdy Fares

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Indian journal of orthopaedics. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
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  7. Review
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 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Mohamed Ahmed Said AhmedDepartment of Physiotherapy, Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, UAE.
Emad Samuel Boles SaweeresDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, El-Sahel Teaching Hospital, Cairo, Egypt.
Nasr Awad AbdelkaderDepartment of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Their Surgeries, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Salwa Fadl AbdelmajeedDepartment of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Their Surgeries, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Ahmed Roshdy FaresDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Cairo University · EGJahra Hospital · KWShebin Teaching Hospital · EG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIntraarticular corticosteroid injection is an adjunct to core treatments for relief of moderate-to-severe pain in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. This randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine the effect of dexamethasone phonophoresis (DxPh) on knee OA. PATIENTS AND

methodsForty six female patients with knee OA were randomized into two equal groups. The study group received DxPh over the medial side of the knee, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and quadriceps strengthening exercises. Control group received ultrasound therapy and the same TENS and exercise program. Pain was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the pain subscale of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pre- and posttreatment. Functional mobility was assessed by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, total WOMAC, and the joint stiffness and physical function subscales of WOMAC. The minimal clinically identifiable difference was used to calculate treatment effect sizes of both modalities, which was compared to intraarticular steroid injections.

resultsThe VAS, TUG, and WOMAC scores improved with both modalities. Pain intensity improved by 50.6%-58.0% in the study group (VAS and pain subscale of WOMAC, respectively) compared to 17.8%-28.6% for the control group. Functional mobility showed a higher rate of improvement in the DxPh group compared to control (37.7 vs. 17.5% for TUG and 53.2 vs. 23.0 and 56.1 vs. 26.4% for the joint stiffness and physical function subscales of WOMAC, respectively). Posttreatment results revealed statistically and clinically significant improvement in pain intensity and functional mobility in the DxPh group.

conclusionDxPh resulted in a greater improvement in pain and function in patients with knee OA than therapeutic ultrasound combined with exercise and TENS. The effect size of phonophoresis was clinically significant and higher than that reported for intraarticular steroid injection from pooled data in the literature.

Indexed as

Knee osteoarthritispain and functionpatient-reported outcome measuresphonophoresisphysical therapyWestern Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index

Identifiers

PMID31673169
PMCPMC6804376
OpenAlexW2980115617

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.