Hu Ruhai, Wang Jinyan, Zhu Shengjie, Wang Zhilin, Hu Zekai
The Second Rehabilitation Hospital of Shanghai, Clinical Research Center, Shanghai, China.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Jiading District Anting Town Community Health Service Centre, Shanghai, China.
Med Sci Monit. 2025 May 13;31:e947224. doi: 10.12659/MSM.947224.
BACKGROUND Chronic knee osteoarthritis (KOA) severely affects elderly populations, yet optimal pain management remains elusive. While community interventions show rehabilitation potential, evidence comparing structured follow-up frequencies is limited. This randomized trial compared intensified monthly community follow-ups vs semi-annual monitoring for improving pain control, functional capacity, and quality of life in elderly patients with KOA. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 112 elderly patients with KOA were enrolled and randomly assigned to either a control group (semi-annual follow-ups) or a follow-up group (monthly community interventions including pain management education and exercise adherence supervision) during the 14-month study. Outcomes were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Statistical analyses performed with SPSS 27.0 included paired-sample t tests for intra-group changes and independent-sample t tests for inter-group comparisons. RESULTS The control group showed a significant reduction in VAS scores at the final assessment (P<0.05). The follow-up group showed significant improvements across VAS, KOOS, and SF-36 scores (P<0.05). Improvements in VAS, KOOS, and SF-36 scores were significantly greater in the follow-up group than in the control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, changes in VAS scores were correlated with changes in KOOS and SF-36 scores (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Regular community follow-ups significantly enhanced pain management, functional outcomes, and quality of life among elderly patients with KOA. By fostering adherence to exercise regimens, this approach proved to be a viable strategy for enhancing rehabilitation outcomes, meriting its broader adoption in clinical practice.
慢性膝关节骨关节炎（KOA）严重影响老年人群体，但最佳疼痛管理方法仍难以确定。虽然社区干预显示出康复潜力，但比较结构化随访频率的证据有限。这项随机试验比较了强化月度社区随访与半年一次监测对改善老年KOA患者疼痛控制、功能能力和生活质量的效果。
在为期14个月的研究中，共纳入112名老年KOA患者，并将其随机分为对照组（半年一次随访）或随访组（月度社区干预，包括疼痛管理教育和运动依从性监督）。使用视觉模拟量表（VAS）、膝关节损伤和骨关节炎结局评分（KOOS）以及简短健康调查问卷（SF-36）评估结果。使用SPSS 27.0进行的统计分析包括组内变化的配对样本t检验和组间比较的独立样本t检验。
对照组在最终评估时VAS评分显著降低（P<0.05）。随访组的VAS、KOOS和SF-36评分均有显著改善（P<0.05）。随访组的VAS、KOOS和SF-36评分改善幅度显著大于对照组（P<0.05）。此外，VAS评分变化与KOOS和SF-36评分变化相关（P<0.05）。
定期社区随访显著改善了老年KOA患者的疼痛管理、功能结局和生活质量。通过促进运动方案的依从性，这种方法被证明是提高康复效果的可行策略，值得在临床实践中更广泛地采用。
