Viscosupplementation for grade II osteoarthritis of the ankle: a prospective study at 18 months' follow-up.
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).
Luciani
Deianira
D
School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via Pupilli 1, Bologna, Italy, deianiralux@yahoo.it
Cadossi
Matteo
M
Tesei
Federico
F
Chiarello
Eugenio
E
Giannini
Sandro
S
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
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid