COMPARISON OF EFFECTIVENESS OF INTRAARTICULAR INJECTIONS OF HYALURONIC ACID AND CORTICOSTEROIDS IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS SYMPTOMS

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of intraarticular injections of hyaluronic acid and corticosteroids in the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis symptoms.Study Design: Prospective comparative study.Place and Duration of Study: Rheumatology/General Medicine department, Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, from May 2019 to Jun 2020.Methodology: Patient of knee osteoarthritis with active symptoms of pain and stiffness who fulfilled American college of rheumatology criteria of 1997 were included in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups with group A receiving intraarticular hyaluronic acid. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was administered before and three months after the management to assess the efficacy of treatment in both the groups. Student ttest was applied to ascertain that the difference in the WOMAC scores before and after the management has been statistically significantly different in both groups. Results: A total of 150 patients of osteoarthritis of knee joint were included in the study. Mean age of the study participants was 58.439 ± 7.35. 85 (56.7%) patients were female while 65 (43.3%) were male. 81 (54%) received the intraarticular hyaluronic Acid while 69 (46%) received the intraarticular steroids. Mean difference before and after the management in WOMAC score in corticosteroids group was 9.295 ± 1.24 while in hyaluronic Acid group was 5.41 ± 4.556 (p-value <0.01). Conclusion: Both hyaluronic Acid and corticosteroids were effective to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis knee in our target population, but intraarticular steroids emerged as the better option from the two in terms of.......