Efficacy and safety of hylan G-F 20 injection in treatment of knee osteoarthritis in Chinese patients: results of a prospective, multicentre, longitudinal study

Objective: To study the efficacy and safety of single intra-articular injection of 6-mL hylan G-F 20 in Chinese patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Design: Prospective case series.

Setting: Six government hospitals in Hong Kong.

Patients: Patients with primary knee osteoarthritis were recruited from six government hospitals from 1 October 2010 to 31 May 2012. All patients received 6-mL intra-articular injection of hylan G-F 20.

Main outcome measures: Pain visual analogue scale, functional visual analogue scale, and 5-point Likert scale on change of pain and function were assessed. Adverse events were checked. Radiographs were taken pre-injection and at 3 months and 1 year.

Results: A total of 110 knees of 95 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis were treated. The mean age of the patients was 62 (standard deviation, 9.8) years. All patients completed 1 year of follow-up. The mean pain visual analogue scale, functional visual analogue scale, and Likert value for pain and function showed statistically significant improvements at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year compared with the pre-injection values. No significant correlations were found between changes in visual analogue scale and age, body mass index, pre-injection radiological osteoarthritis severity, serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or C-reactive protein. Serial radiographs did not show any changes in the radiological severity of knee osteoarthritis. Overall, 16.4% of the patients experienced mild and self-limiting adverse events.

Conclusion: Hylan G-F 20 is a safe and effective therapy to relieve pain and improve function for up to 1 year in Chinese patients with knee osteoarthritis.