Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Degenerative osteoarthropathy is a commonly and frequently occurring disease in clinic, but most doctors have different comprehension and cognition at present, especially in pathogenesis, therapy and different symptom types of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The most important reason is lack of objective research in different symptom types and diagnosis in this disease. Therefore, it is significant to investigate syndrome classification using cluster analysis.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution trait in degenerative osteoarthropathy according to different symptom types of TCM.
METHODS: The questionnaire was designed according to the clinical manifestations in degenerative osteoarthropathy patients. A total of 70 patients including Chinese medicine symptoms, clinical signs, tongue, pulse and other diagnostic messages were collected and analyzed using Hierachical cluster analysis statistical method and combined with clinical knowledge, we hope to discover the characteristics of different symptom type of TCM in this disease.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Degenerative osteoarthropathy occurred in the knee articulation, which has close relationship with the liver and kidney, and the main pathogenesise were deficiency of the liver and kidney and arthralgia caused by wind, cold and dampness. According to the result of Hierachical cluster analysis, the disease could be divided into three categories syndrome: The first symptom was deficiency of the liver and kidney; the second symptom was arthralgia caused by wind, cold and dampness; the last symptom was blood stasis and vital energy retardation. The findings demonstrated that cluster analysis statistical method can be used for classification of disease syndromes.