title: A 3-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a highly optimized, capacitively coupled, pulsed electrical stimulator in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the efficacy and safety of a capacitively coupled, pulsed electrical stimulation device in treating knee osteoarthritis (OA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight outpatients with moderate to severe OA of the knee entered a 3-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, using either an active or placebo device at home for 6 to 14 h/day. Outcome measures included a patient global evaluation, a patient report of knee pain severity, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Active treatment provided superior outcomes between baseline and 3-month follow-up measurements: 50.6% greater improvement than placebo in patient global (P=0.03), 31.2% in patient pain (P=0.04), 25.1% in WOMAC stiffness (P=0.03), 29.5% in WOMAC function (P=0.01), 19.9% in WOMAC pain (P=0.11), and 27% in total WOMAC (P=0.01). The percent of patients who improved by more than 50% was 38.5 active vs 5.3 placebo in patient global (P=0.01), 43.6 vs 15.8 in patient pain (P=0.04), 38.5 vs 10.5 in WOMAC pain (P=0.03), 28.2 vs 5.3 in WOMAC stiffness (P=0.08), 23.1 vs 5.3 in WOMAC function (P=0.14), and 23.1 vs 5.3 in total WOMAC (P=0.14). Twenty-one percent of placebo and 18% of actively treated patients developed a transient rash at the electrode sites. No other adverse device effects were reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A highly optimized, capacitively coupled, pulsed electrical stimulus device significantly improved symptoms and function in knee OA without causing any serious side effects.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurotrauma, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garland
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.forename: J Timothy
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zizic
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cholewczynski
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000628:therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome