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Joint unloading system yields better knee function, less pain
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GENEVA — A joint unloading implant demonstrated good short-term results in a European multicenter randomized trial when used to treat medial knee osteoarthritis, according to a presentation at the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy Congress 2012, here.
 K. Fredrik Almqvist |
Five centers in the United Kingdom and Belgium participated in the prospective, single-arm, historical control, non-inferiority, open-label trial to evaluate the shock-absorbing joint unloading device. Investigators enrolled 40 patients with medial knee osteoarthritis in the study. They implanted the device in subcutaneous tissue alongside the knee, but not in the joint.
Patients were included in the study if they failed conservative treatment or were on waiting lists for other procedures, such as total knee arthroplasty, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and high tibial osteotomy, according to the abstract.
The European team was prompted to conduct its investigation of the KineSpring Knee Implant System (Moximed; Hayward, Calif., USA) after Australian researchers reported success with it.
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“This is a European study [which] confirms the results that have been shown by the Australia group,” K. Fredrik Almqvist, MD, PhD, of University Hospital Gent in Belgium, said at the meeting. “It does reduce pain and it does improve the function in these patients included in this study,” he said.
The unloading approach is appealing for young active patients. It has a short recovery time and preserves the natural knee anatomy, Almqvist said.
The mean hospital stay was 1.7 ± 2.1 days and patients achieved full weight bearing 1 week to 2 weeks after discharge, according to the abstract.
Researchers followed patients treated with the KineSpring device between 6 months and 2 years. Visual Analog Scale scores improved from 56.5 ± 18.4 to 19.9 ± 4.6 in the first year.
Reference:
- Almqvist KF, Verdonk R, Waller C, et al. One-year results of the COAST study: A European evaluation of an internal absorber system as an early unloading therapy for patients with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). Paper #FP12-1122. Presented at the European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy Congress 2012. May 2-5. Geneva.
- Disclosure: Almqvist has no relevant financial disclosures.
