2012 Volume 31 Issue 1 Pages 55-60
Objective: This study was designed to clarify the effects of intra-articular high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid injections (Suvenyl) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with early-stage osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee using the Japanese knee osteoarthritis measure (JKOM).
Methods: In total, 139 patients (38 men and 101 women, aged 59.9±10.5 years) with early-stage OA of the knee (Kellgren-Lawrence criteria less than grade II) were enrolled in this study. All patients were randomly allocated to either the Suvenyl group (85 patients, 24 men and 61 women) or the NSAID group (54 patients, 14 men and 40 women). The JKOM and the visual analogue scale (VAS) as a pain index were investigated in both groups from before intervention to 6 weeks after intervention.
Results: The patients' characteristics (age and sex) were not significantly different between the two groups. The VAS score showed significant improvement in 6 weeks compared with the baseline in both groups (43.5 to 23.3 mm in the Suvenyl group and 42.2 to 22.1 mm in the NSAID group, p < 0.01, respectively). The JKOM score significantly improved in 6 weeks compared with the baseline in both groups (27.3 to 19.7 points in the Suvenyl group and 27.2 to 16.1 points in the NSAID group, p < 0.05, respectively). However, there were no significant differences in the VAS and JKOM scores between Suvenyl and NSAID groups.
Conclusions: These results suggest that intra-articular high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid injections may be an effective treatment for patients with early stage OA of the knee; the results demonstrated no differences in effectiveness between the two treatments.
