title: Viscosupplementation for grade II osteoarthritis of the ankle: a prospective study at 18 months' follow-up.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Viscosupplementation, with hyaluronan derivates injected into the intra-space of osteoarthritic joints, is now widely used for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. This study evaluates the results in terms of pain and disability of intra-articular injections of hyaluronan derivates into the ankle joint in patients suffering from grade II primary or secondary osteoarthritis of the ankle.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one patients with a painful ankle and radiographic evidence of grade II osteoarthritis had three weekly intra-articular injections of 2 ml of hylan G-F 20 (10 mg/ml) into the ankle joint. The primary clinical outcome measurement was the ankle osteoarthritis score (AOS) at the baseline, and at 6, 12 and 18 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant improvement of the AOS from baseline was seen after 6 months (p=0.0001). This improvement was maintained over time with no further changes at 12- and 18-month follow-ups. Regarding pain, the AOS improved over time from the baseline to the 18-month follow up and became statistically significant at the 12- and 18-month follow-ups (p<0.05).
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via Pupilli 1, Bologna, Italy, deianiralux@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Deianira
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Luciani
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cadossi
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tesei
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chiarello
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giannini
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000187:drug effects; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000187:drug effects*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014783:Viscosity; D055676:Viscosupplementation
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid