Abstract

Introduction and aim: There are so many tools (generic or disease specific) for evaluation and some of them are taking too much time also so many tools that gave the clinician same results but takes much more time. So it would be beneficial for the clinician to use the appropriate tool for planning treatment programme. The aim of study was to compare the index (WOMAC), which was frequently used and designed specifically for OA with the index (KOOS), which was used recently and addition to this to search the difference between health related quality of life assessment (SF-36) and disease specific indexes in order to offer guidance to clinicians and researchers in choosing between them.
Material and method: 121 patients with knee osteoarthritis, from Haseki Hospital Clinic of Orthopedics and Travmatology who were diagnosed as knee osteoarthritis aged between 42-85 participated in this study. VAS, KOOS index, WOMAC index and SF-36 assessment were questionnaired.
Results: The correlation between general health subgroup of  SF-36 and symptom subgroup of KOOS was statistically insignificant. Also the correlation between general health subgroup of SF-36 and pain subgroup of  KOOS, physical function subgroup of SF-36 and symptom  subgroup of KOOS, physical function subgroup of SF-36 and pain subgroup of  KOOS, mental health subgroup of SF-36 and symptom subgroup of  KOOS  were statistically insignificant. Except these groups the correlation between the subgroups of  KOOS  and SF-36  were statistically significant. The correlation between the subgroups of  WOMAC and the subgroups of KOOS were statistically significant. When we looked the relation between subgroups of WOMAC and SF-36; WOMAC pain and SF-36 general health, WOMAC stiffness and SF-36 general health, WOMAC function and SF-36 general health, WOMAC stiffness and SF-36 vitality, WOMAC pain and SF-36 mental health, WOMAC stiffness and SF-36 mental health, WOMAC pain and SF-36 MCS, WOMAC stiffness and SF-36 MCS we couldn’t find a statistically significant correlation. Except these subgroups, the correlation between the other groups were statistically significant.