Case Studies

Patient : 65 year old female patient

Case History

Sixty-five year old female is a known case of osteoarthritis for the last 5 years. The patient came with chief complaints of severe pain, stiffness in the joints since the last 2 weeks. She complained of inability of walk due to the pain. She also complained of disturbance of sleep pattern because of the pain in the joints since the last 2 weeks.

Examination Findings

General examination: The patient’s BP was 140/90mmHg. The other vital parameters were within normal limits.

The systemic examination of the cardiovascular system, central nervous system respiratory system and alimentary system did not reveal any abnormalities. The examination of the knee joint reveals moderate degree of stiffness with tenderness.

Treatment

The patient was prescribed piroxicam 20 mg twice a day along with Tab Ranitidine 300 mg once a day. Tab. Zolpidem was added to the therapy at a dose of 10 mg per day at bedtime. The patient was asked to follow up after 30 days.

Follow up

The patient followed up for examination after 30 days. The patient’s pain and stiffness in the joint was significantly reduced. The patient mentioned about being able to sleep even though the pain had not completely subsided. The treatment with Zolpidem has been continued for more than 6 months because of its beneficial effect on the patient’s sleep pattern. The stoppage of treatment did not cause rebound insomnia or any alteration of the sleep pattern.