Reduced Analgesics Consumption and Pain Intensity after Injections with a New Hyaluronic Acid in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective: To determine the influence of a new intraarticular hyaluronic acid based hydrogel (Hymovis®) injections on the amount of analgesics consumption in patients diagnosed with primary knee OA.
Methods: A prospective, single-center study that included 35 patients, aged 45-80 years was conducted in our orthopaedics department. Patients received two intraarticular injections of hyaluronic acid (24 mg/3 ml; 500–730 kDa; Hymovis®) at one week apart. Follow-up was scheduled at 2 and 6 months after the injections. Assessment tools included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and an in-house designed questionnaire regarding analgesic consumption (quantity, period and product) during the follow-up.
Results: Compared to baseline, a significant amelioration in visual analogue scale was observed at six months’ follow-up (74.2mm ± 11.7 vs. 57.3mm ± 12.1; p < .0001). 28% (n=10) of the patients reduced their total analgesic consumption at two months after the injections. At final follow-up, the analgesic intake was reduced by more than 50% in almost every case.
Conclusions: Intraarticular administered injections with a novel hyaluronan-based hydrogel (Hymovis®) may reduce the amount of analgesic consumption and self-reported pain intensity in patients with knee OA.