| Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Strong-bone Decoction on patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and its effect on the expression of serum inflammatory factors. Methods Patients with KOA were randomly divided into control group (Celebrex for 2 weeks and glucosamine hydrochloride tablets for 12 weeks and alendronate sodium for 12 weeks) and observation group (Celebrex for 2 weeks and glucosamine hydrochloride tablets for 12 weeks and alendronate sodium for 12 weeks, combined with Strong-bone Decoction), with 36 cases in each group. After 12 weeks of treatment, the TCM symptom score, the WOMAC index, the VAS, and the SF-36 score were observed. The serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected with ELISA. Results The 88.89% (32/36) total effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than the 69.44% (25/36) total effective rate in the control group (P<0.05). The TCM symptom score, the WOMAC score, and the VAS in both groups decreased significantly after the treatment (P<0.05). The observation group had lower TCM symptom score, WOMAC score, and VAS than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The SF-36 score in both groups increased significantly after the treatment (P<0.05). The observation group had higher SF-36 score than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression levels of serum inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in both groups decreased significantly after the treatment (P<0.05). The observation group had lower expression levels of serum inflammatory factors than the observation group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Strong-bone Decoction has a good clinical effect in the treatment of KOA. It decreases the expression levels of serum inflammatory factors. |