How do hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid injections compare for knee OA relief?

HA (mostly) improves pain, function more than betamethasone

A 2015 RCT of 200 patients with knee OA compared the effectiveness of intra-articular HA and betamethasone.⁴ Evaluators were blinded and assessments were made at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The HA group received 2.5 mL of 1% HA (Suprahyal); the CS group received betamethasone dipropionate 5 mg plus betamethasone sodium phosphate 2 mg in 1 mL.

Inconsistent evidence shows a small amount of pain relief at one week to 3 months with corticosteroid injections.

The CS group had significantly less pain (VAS 1 to 10) at 3 months compared with the HA group (2.2 points vs 3.1 points; P=.004), but the HA group had less pain at all other time points (6 months: 3.9 points vs 2.4 points; P=.0001; 9 months: 5.5 points vs 3.6 points; P=.0001; 12 months: 6 points vs 4.1 points; P=.0001).

The WOMAC function subscores (0 to 68; lower indicates more function) were significantly better at all follow-up points in the HA group compared with the CS group (3 months: 19 vs 25; P=.0001; 6 months: 17 vs 29; P=.0001; 9 months: 25 vs 42; P=.0001; 12 months: 28 vs 42; P=.0001).⁴

RECOMMENDATIONS

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2013 work group couldn’t recommend for or against using intra-articular CS for patients with symptomatic knee OA based on inconclusive evidence.⁵ They also couldn’t recommend using HA (SOR: strong).

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) stated in 2008 that intra-articular CS injections should be considered as an adjunct to core treatments for the relief of moderate to severe pain in people with OA.⁶ In 2014, NICE recommended against offering intra-articular HA injections for managing OA.

The US Veterans Administration and Department of Defense have issued guidelines stating that clinicians may consider intra-articular CS injections for patients with symptomatic knee OA (US Preventive Services Task Force [USPSTF] Grade B).⁷ They report insufficient evidence to recommend for or against the use of intra-articular HA with the caveat that HA may be considered for patients who don’t respond adequately to nonpharmacologic measures and who have an inadequate response, intolerable adverse events, or contraindications to other pharmacologic therapies (USPSTF Grade I).