A pilot clinical evaluation of the treatment of hip osteoarthritis with hyaluronic acid

A pilot clinical evaluation of the treatment of hip osteoarthritis with hyaluronic acid

Article specifications

This clinical study was published in 1994 in journal of Current Therapeutic Research (IF 1994:0.62) by Italian orthopedics. In this study the safety and efficacy of intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) in patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA) were evaluated. 44 patients affected by monolateral or bilateral hip OA were included in the study; a total of 50 joints were treated, each receiving a total of 3 to 5 intra-articular injections of 20 mg/2 ml HA every week for a month. Clinical parameters, assessed at baseline and on days 30, 60, 120, and 180, were pain at night, at rest, and on; walking ability; joint motion (measured by a goniometer); intake of analgesics or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); and physician's and patient's overall judgment of efficacy.

Results

Evaluation of pain on movement and at rest, walking ability, and joint motion showed that HA treatment was effective in controlling pain and increasing joint mobility in 68% of the patients. The improvement observed at the end of the treatment period (30th day) was significant, compared with baseline, for pain and joint motion. This improvement continued to increase during the follow-up period up to the 60th day and was maintained up to the 180th day. Patients with mild-to-moderate disease and those receiving four injections experienced the greatest symptomatic improvement. Injections of HA were well tolerated; only one patient experienced a mild increase of pain after the first injection. The results of the study showed that hyaluronic acid injection, not only has anti-inflammatory effect but also has cartilage-protection mechanism. In conclusion, we believe that HA may be a first choice of treatment for HOA.