Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics (n = 104)
| Paracetamol (n= 52) | Diclofenac (n= 52) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
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| n | % | Mean (SD) | n | % | Mean (SD) | |
| Age, years | 64.0 (9.0) | 63.9 (9.2) | ||||
| Female | 32 | 61.5 | 33 | 63.5 | ||
| Low education level | 38 | 77.6 | 43 | 82.7 | ||
| Paid job | 15 | 30.6 | 19 | 36.5 | ||
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 27.7 (4.0) | 28.6 (4.8) | ||||
|
| ||||||
| Duration of symptoms | ||||||
| <3 weeks | 9 | 18.3 | 10 | 19.2 | ||
| 3 weeks–3 months | 8 | 16.3 | 17 | 32.7 | ||
| ≥3 months | 32 | 65.3 | 25 | 48.1 | ||
|
| ||||||
| Side of osteoarthritis | ||||||
| Left | 17 | 34.7 | 16 | 30.8 | ||
| Right | 21 | 42.9 | 18 | 34.6 | ||
| Bilateral | 11 | 22.4 | 18 | 34.6 | ||
|
| ||||||
| Kellgren and Lawrence score | ||||||
| Grade 0 or 1 | 33 | 63.5 | 33 | 63.5 | ||
| Grade ≥2 | 16 | 30.8 | 19 | 36.5 | ||
| Missing | 3 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | ||
|
| ||||||
| Clinical ACR criteria | ||||||
| Age >50 years | 50 | 96.2 | 46 | 88.5 | ||
| Stiffness <30 minutes | 36 | 69.2 | 32 | 61.5 | ||
| Crepitus | 34 | 65.4 | 31 | 59.6 | ||
| Bony tenderness | 46 | 88.5 | 42 | 80.8 | ||
| Bony enlargement | 29 | 55.8 | 22 | 42.3 | ||
| No palpable warmth | 45 | 86.5 | 48 | 92.3 | ||
|
| ||||||
| Knee pain severity (NRS, 0–10)a | 5.1 (1.8) | 5.4 (2.1) | ||||
|
| ||||||
| KOOS (0–100)a | ||||||
| Pain | 47.9 (16.8) | 50.7 (16.4) | ||||
| ADL (function) | 42.7 (18.4) | 46.0 (17.7) | ||||
| Symptoms | 51.8 (12.8) | 52.4 (13.0) | ||||
| Sport and Recreation | 75.3 (19.1) | 69.3 (26.1) | ||||
| QoL | 55.6 (11.1) | 56.0 (13.8) | ||||
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| ||||||
| QoL, EQ-5D (0 to 1)b | 0.74 (0.16) | 0.67 (0.25) | ||||
a
A higher score is worse.
b
A higher score is better. ACR = American College of Rheumatology. ADL = Activities of daily living. KOOS = Knee steoarthritis Outcome Score. NRS = numerical rating scale. QoL = Quality of life. SD = standard deviation.