抄録
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the frequency of acute painful arthritis following intra-articular injections of hylan G-F 20 (Synvisc). We also examined the patient characteristics that affected the frequency of inflammatory flares after intra-articular injections of hylan G-F 20.
Methods: The present study group consisted of 166 knees from 137 patients with a history of osteoarthritis, who received three once-weekly intra-articular injections of hylan G-F 20. A total of 446 injections were administered to study group. To analyze the patients' factors that affected the occurrence of arthritis, logistic regression analysis was performed with the following factors as explaining variables: gender, patient age, body mass index, stage of arthritis based on the Kellgren-Lawrence classification and disease duration.
Results: Twenty patients (12.6%) suffered from an acute flare reaction after more than two injections of hylan G-F 20. Twelve patients developed asymptomatic joint effusions, whereas eight patients had joint effusions with severe painful arthritis. All the patients showed improvement at one week post-aspiration of the joint effusions with the added use of corticosteroid injections, or oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Logistic regression analysis revealed that only patient age affected the occurrence of arthritis (odds ratio 0.955: 95% confidence interval 0.914-0.999).
Conclusion: This present study showed that the frequency of acute arthritis after injection with hylan G-F 20 is higher than with other hyaluronic acid. Patient age appears to be a significant factor for predicting the risk of arthritis.
