[Quality of life and functional indices in osteoarthritis]

The main Indices of Quality of Life used in rheumatology and their aims and applications are surveyed. Their use in osteoarthritis implies a few issues that are addressed in a critical manner. Indices of Quality of Life are useful to measure deficiency resulting from osteoarthritis by comparison with other rheumatic diseases, as rheumatoid arthritis, connective tissue diseases, fibromyalgia... They are sensitive enough for apraising the domains improved by a radical treatment such as joint replacement. However, their scores are only slightly changing in most of the drug trials, in which the more simple functional indices seem demonstrative enough. Last but no least, they are notably time consuming for both the patient and the physician.