Abstract

Introduction : Osteoarthritis is a major cause of disability and is among the most frequent forms of musculoskeletal disorders. The goal of pharmacological treatment is usually to control symptoms of the disease, pain, and limitation of function, which is traditionally accomplished by the use of analgesic agents or non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Aims and Objectives: 1) To evaluate analgesic efficacy, safety and compliance of fixed drug combination (Aceclofenac + Diacerein) in patients of early OA Knee. 2) To compare analgesic efficacy, safety and compliance of compliance of free drug combination (Aceclofenac followed by Diacerein) with fixed drug combination (Aceclofenac + Diacerein) in patients of early OA knee. Study Design: The present study was a randomized, open label trial to compare the analgesic efficacy, safety and compliance of fixed drug combination (Aceclofenac + Diacerein) with free dose combination (Aceclofenac, Diacerein) in patients of early Osteoarthritis knee. Result: In present study, pain parameters showed improvement in both groups on Visual analog scale, Womac scale and Global assessment scale. The post drug values decreased in both groups at all levels (P value 0.0001) on all scales, however on inter group comparison both drug regimes were equally efficacious on all scales as there was no statistical difference amongst them (P value > 0.05). Review of the literature revealed no study where fixed dose combination or free drug combination of Aceclofenac and Diacerein were compared. However, there are number of studies comparing the drugs under investigation with other analgesics. Conclusion: Current study demonstrated equal efficacy, safety and compliance of the both drug regimes of free drug combination (Aceclofenac, Diacerein) and fixed dose combination (Aceclofenac + Diacerein) in patients of early OA knee. None of the drug regimes showed superiority over other.