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Intra-articular corticosteroid injection comparable to placebo in patients with OA
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SEATTLE — Intra-articular corticosteroid injections plus exercise did not show superiority to placebo plus exercise in a 26-week trial of patients with osteoarthritis, according to research presented at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International World Congress on Osteoarthritis, here.
Fifty patients with osteoarthritis (OA) were randomly assigned to receive intra-articular corticosteroid injections plus lidocaine and 50 patients were randomly assigned to a placebo injection of saline and lidocaine. Mean age of participants was 63.4 years, and 61% of the patients were women.
Both groups were prescribed exercise in the form of supervised running 2 weeks after the injection. KOOS was measured at baseline, at week 2 at the initiation of exercise, at week 14 at the end of the exercise regimen and at the week 26 follow-up visit.
Of the 100 participants, 93 completed the week 14 assessment and 89 completed the 26-week follow-up. No demographic or clinical differences were seen between participants who completed the trial and those who did not. The mean rate of attendance for supervised exercise was 79%.
Mean KOOS pain score at baseline was 53.3 in the corticosteroid group and 55.2 in the placebo group. At week 14, the mean change in KOOS was 13.6 in the corticosteroid group and 14.8 in the placebo group; the 1.2-point difference did not meet the minimal clinically significant difference of 8 to 10 KOOS points, according to the researchers. - by Shirley Pulawski
Reference:
Henriksen M, et al. Paper #16. Presented at: Osteoarthritis Research Society International World Congress on Osteoarthritis. April 30-May 3, 2015; Seattle.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.