title: The efficacy and safety of intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid in the knee and physical therapy agents to treat Kashin-Beck disease: A prospective interventional study.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine whether hyaluronic acid (HA) or physical therapy agents (PTA) can improve functional parameters in patients with knee Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). For 2 years, patients (n=55) were treated with HA weekly for 5 weeks, then received 6th and 7th injections on the 3rd and 6th month, respectively, for 7 injections in total. Patients (n=53) were treated with PTA five times a week for 3 weeks every month for 6 months. The patients were evaluated with the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the visual analog pain scale (VAS). Trial registration, ChiCTR-TRC-12002189 (http://www.chictr.org/). During the study, following treatment interruption, pain increased in the PTA group (from a mean value of 85.7±83.8 mm at month 12 to 145.2±128.8 mm at month 18 and 201.3±150.5 mm at month 24), while it remained stable in the HA group (from a mean value of 80.7±70.6 mm at month 12 to 90.1±95.2 mm at month 18 and 82.6±85.3 mm at month 24), with a statistically significant difference in favor of HA at month 18 (P<0.05) and month 24 (P<0.05). Joint stiffness, physical function and total WOMAC showed the same trend as pain. The global efficacy judgments by the patients and the investigators showed a statistically significant difference in favor of HA at month 18 (P<0.05) and month 24 (P<0.05). In conclusion, although all the patients improved in terms of pain and function, HA was superior to PTA alone for pain relief and lasting effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Pinglin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Medical College, Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xijing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Quanjin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guoyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Xi'an Red Cross Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Weizhuo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Kashin-Beck disease; hyaluronic acid