Hyaluronic Acid Provides Knee Osteoarthritis Pain Relief With Fewer Adverse Outcomes

Intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IHA) knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain relief treatments had lower total medical care costs vs. patients treated with intra-articular corticosteroids (ICS) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA), according to a retrospective study published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.
 
The study involved an analysis of an insurance claims database whose eligible members were diagnosed with knee OA, followed for a four-year observation period and allocated to three cohorts: patients who received IHA only, those who received ICS only, and those who received TKA only. The analysis also found that patients in the IHA cohort had fewer adverse outcomes vs. patients in the ICS and TKA cohorts and had lower use/costs of opioids and prescription analgesics vs. patients in the ICS and TKA cohorts.
 
“Knee osteoarthritis is a lead cause of chronic pain and disability that affects more than 14 million Americans.¹ The treatment options available to these patients are limited and many are associated with complications. We have long known that introducing HA treatments earlier in the continuum of care of knee OA patients provides pain relief and safely allows them to enjoy a more active lifestyle,” said Alessandra Pavesio, senior vice president and chief science officer, Bioventus. “Now we know that with the efficacy and safety of HA treatments also come reduced total medical costs, fewer adverse events and a minimization of opioids and analgesics use. These findings should be very relevant to clinicians and payers working with these patients to improve treatment algorithms and minimize healthcare costs.” 
 
The study was funded by Bioventus and its authors include John Mackowiak, Ph.D., Center for Surgical Quality and Outcomes Research; John Jones, M.A., M.S., Bioventus; and Vinod Dasa, M.D., Louisiana State University.
 
Reference
¹ Deshpande BR, et al. Number of persons with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in the US: impact of race and ethnicity, age, sex, and obesity. Arthritis Care Res 2016;68:1743-50