Fig 1.
Representative radiograph of the external distraction frame in use.
Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients treated with knee joint distraction in regular care and in clinical trials.
Fig 2.
Representative radiographs pre-treatment and one year post-treatment for regular care and clinical trial patient.
Note the aluminum step wedge needed for joint space width quantification as used in clinical trials.
Table 2.
Complications during and after treatment with knee joint distraction in regular care and in clinical trials.
Fig 3.
Range of motion before and after treatment with knee joint distraction.
Statistically significant differences compared to baseline are indicated with * for regular care patients (non-existent for clinical trial patients); statistically significant differences between regular care and clinical trial patients are indicated with #.
Table 3.
Baseline characteristics of patients treated with knee joint distraction in regular care and in clinical trials, who completed both WOMAC baseline and 12-month follow-up questionnaires.
Fig 4.
One-year WOMAC change for patients treated with knee joint distraction.
One-year change in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) total score (A) and the pain (B), stiffness (C) and function (D) subscales for patients treated with knee joint distraction in regular care and in OPS/RCT clinical trials (OPS = open prospective study; RCT = randomized controlled trial). P-values above groups indicate significant changes at one year compared to baseline while p-values between groups indicate the significance of differences between groups, corrected for baseline values and distraction duration. Each dot represents a patient (for trial patients: triangles represent OPS patients and circles RCT patients); bars represent mean and 95% confidence interval.
Table 4.
Clinical outcome for patients treated with knee joint distraction in regular care and in clinical trials.