Patient selection.
rheumatoid arthritis, skin disorder, allergic reaction, pain, osteoarticular disorders, gout
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, SKIN DISORDER, GOUT, ALLERGIC REACTION
Patients were selected from those referring to rheumatology clinic of Al-Zahra hospital, based on the following inclusion criteria: (1) age of 40–80 years, (2) OA of at least one knee for at least 3 months based on the diagnostic criteria of American College of Rheumatology (ACR), (3) pain score > 4 based on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and (4) grade 2 or 3 of Kellgren-Lawrence scale in knee radiography within the past 3 month.The patients’ exclusion criteria were: (1) use of intra-articular glucocorticoids within the past 3 months, (2) use of intra-articular sodium hyaluronate within the past 6 months, (3) use of systemic glucocorticoids (either oral or parenteral) within the past 14 days, (4) concurrent other osteoarticular disorders (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and gout), (5) any skin disorder in the knee region, (6) any allergic reaction to the prescribed topical preparation, (7) knee arthroscopy within the past 3 months, (8) illiteracy, (9) inability to answer the questions, and (13) pregnancy or lactation (for women).