Clinical observation of treating patients with acute knee gouty arthritis by intra-articularly injecting sinomenine

Objective:To observe the effect of intra-articularly injecting sinomenine on patients with acute knee gouty arthritis.Methods:57 patients who had been diagnosed as acute knee gouty arthritis were injected sinomenine by intra-articular route in which the VAS(visual analogue scale)score was used to assess the severity of pain,the side effect of sinomenine were monitored and the recurrence of arthritis was recorded.Results:The total effective rate of intra-articularly injecting sinomenine was 94.7%,and excellent rate was 73.7%by VAS score in which no patients had a complication of the injection.16%of the patient occurred side effects of sinomenine such as skin sensibility which was easily manageable.After 3 months of follow-up,the recurrence rate was 3.5%,while it was 12.3%after 6 months.Conclusion:The diagnosis of acute knee gouty arthritis should be based on patients'history of the disease,symptoms,clinical signs and laboratory examinations.Sinomenine can effectively reduce the pain though a procedure of the intra-articular injection.The side effect of this treatment is minor and manageable,while its long term effects on recurrence should be further investigated.The VAS score have advantages of quickness and acceptability by patients,which is recommended for the assessment of pain caused by gouty arthritis.