INTRAARTICULAR INJECTIONS OF HYALURONAN IN PATIENTS WITH CARTILAGE ABNORMALITIES AND KNEE PAIN - A ONE-YEAR DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY

Objective. To compare the effect of intraarticular injections of hyaluronan and placebo (vehicle, saline) in patients with knee pain on exertion and with joint cartilage abnormalities. Methods. Fifty-two patients with arthroscopically verified deep cartilage fissures and villus-like flakes in the symptomatic knee were randomly assigned to receive intraarticular injections of 2.5 ml of either hyaluronan or vehicle, weekly for 5 weeks. The effect was evaluated by both primary and secondary parameters of efficacy at 2, 4, 13, 26, and 52 weeks. Results. At the followup visits, both groups had improvement from baseline; however, there was no difference between the groups in any of the relevant variables at any time point. Conclusion. The effects of intraarticular hyaluronan do not differ significantly from those of placebo in patients with knee pain and cartilage disease.