title: Heat-sensitive moxibustion in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a three-armed multicentre randomised active control trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In China, heat-sensitive moxibustion (HSM) is used for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) to reduce pain and improve physical activity. However, there is little high-quality evidence of its effectiveness.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of HSM in the treatment of KOA compared with usual care.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a multicentre, randomised controlled trial. In total, 432 patients with KOA were randomly assigned to one of three groups (HSM, conventional moxibustion, or conventional injection with sodium hyaluronate). The primary end point was the guiding principle of clinical research on new drugs in the treatment of KOA (GPCRND-KOA). Measurements were obtained at baseline and after 1 and 6 months (month 7) of study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For GPCRND-KOA, there were significant differences among the three groups after treatment at months 1 and 7. Pairwise comparisons showed that HSM was more effective than the conventional drug. There was no difference in any measures between conventional moxibustion and the conventional drug. Compared with conventional moxibustion, HSM resulted in greater improvement in all outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This trial provided some evidence of the superiority of HSM in patients with KOA, suggesting that the observed differences might be due to superiority effects of a heat-sensitive point, although the effect of expectation cannot be ruled out.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The trial was registered at Controlled Clinical Trials: ChiCTR-TRC-09000600.
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital with Jiangxi University of TCM, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rixin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital with Jiangxi University of TCM, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Shanxi TCM Hospital, Xian, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Tongsheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: The first Affiliated Hospital with Anhui University of TCM, Hefei, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Meiqi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu TCM Hospital, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital with Jiangxi University of TCM, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital with Jiangxi University of TCM, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhenhai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital with Jiangxi University of TCM, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dingyi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Hospital with Jiangxi University of TCM, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009071:Moxibustion / Q000295:instrumentation; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000628:therapy*; D059408:Pain Management
keywords: ACUPUNCTURE; MOXIBUSTION