Efficacy and safety of intraarticular hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid for knee osteoarthritis: A meta-analysis.

 Efficacy and safety of intraarticular hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid for knee osteoarthritis: A meta-analysis.

Article specifications

This meta analysis was published in 2017 in Journal of International Journal of Surgery (IF 2017: 2.221) by Chinese specialists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intra-articular hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid for knee osteoarthritis. 12 RCTs containing 1794 patients meet the inclusion criteria. Visual analog scale (VAS) score in CS group decrease more than HA group up to 1 month. 

Results

Intraarticular CS is more effective on pain relief than intraarticular HA in short term (up to 1 month), while HA is more effective in long term (up to 6 months). Two therapies benefit similarly for knee function improvement. Both two methods are relatively safe, but intraarticular HA causes more topical adverse effects compared with intraarticular CS.