Abstract Viscosupplementation (VS) with hyaluronic acid is currently used by physicians to treat osteoarthritis. However, many aspects of this treatment remain questionable and subject of ...controversy. A group of 8 experts in this field, from European countries, met to debate on 24 statements previously listed by the group members. Based on an extensive research of the literature and expert opinion, a consensus position has been proposed for each statement. Agreement was achieved on some recommendations. In particular, the expert achieved unanimous agreement in favor of the following statements: VS is an effective treatment for mild to moderate knee OA; VS is not an alternative to surgery in advanced hip OA; VS is a well-tolerated treatment of knee and other joints OA; VS should not be used only in patients who have failed to respond adequately to analgesics and NSAIDs; VS is a “positive” indication but not a “lack of anything better” indication; the dosing regimen must be supported by evidence-based medicine; cross-linking is a proven means for prolonging IA residence time of HA; the best approach to inject accurately knee joint is the lateral mid-patellar one; when VS is performed under fluoroscopy, the amount of radiopaque contrast agent must be as low as possible to avoid viscosupplement dilution. These clear recommendations have been established to help practitioners in the use of viscosupplementation.
There is a discrepancy between evidence in support of the widespread use of intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IAHA) to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA) in clinical practice, and the often discordant ...recommendations from multiple international guideline committees, which requires further investigation.
We conducted a literature review to determine the strength of evidence in support of the efficacy and safety of IAHA, from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses.
Our analysis shows that IAHA provides a moderate symptomatic benefit to knee OA patients and without major safety concerns. In fact, IAHA may offer one of the best benefit/risk ratios among pharmacologic options, as measured by improvements in knee OA health outcomes, overall gain in quality-adjusted life years and substantial delays in time to total knee replacement.
We advocate for the consideration of recommending IAHA injection as a treatment option in the management of knee OA, tailored by disease stage and patient phenotype. Future research efforts should focus on identification of OA patient subgroups that demonstrate a more robust response to IAHA, determination of long-term effects of repeat IAHA injections on patient-reported outcomes and total knee replacement-sparing effect, further elucidation of disease-modifying effects, and the potential for combination therapy with other pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies to optimize the management of knee OA.
Purpose
There has been much debate regarding the use of intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as symptomatic treatment for knee osteoarthritis. The objective of this consensus was ...to develop guidelines for PRP injections in knee osteoarthritis according to the French National Authority for Health recommendations.
Methods
Fifteen physicians from different French-speaking countries (10 rheumatologists, 4 specialists in rehabilitation and sports medicine and 1 radiologist) were selected for their expertise in the areas of PRP and osteoarthritis. A comprehensive literature review was conducted on Medline including all published therapeutic trials, open studies, meta-analysis and systematic reviews focusing on the effects of PRP in knee OA, as well as fundamental studies concerning the characteristics of the various types of PRP and their mechanisms, indexed before April 2019. Using the method recommended by the French National Authority for Health inspired by the Delphi consensus process, 25 recommendations were finally retained and evaluated. The recommendations were classified as appropriate or not appropriate, with strong or relative agreement, or uncertain if a consensus was not achieved.
Results
Among the 25 recommendations selected, the main ones are the following: (1) Intra-articular injections of PRP are an effective symptomatic treatment for early to moderate knee osteoarthritis. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a relative agreement (Median = 8; rank = 6–9). Level of evidence 1A. (2) A PRP treatment sequence in knee osteoarthritis may include 1–3 injections. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a strong agreement (Median = 9; rank = 7–9). Level of evidence 1A. (3) Leucocytes-poor PRP should be preferred in knee osteoarthritis. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a relative agreement (Median = 8; rank = 5–9). Level of evidence 5. (4) Intra-articular PRP knee injections should be performed under ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance. This recommendation was considered uncertain with no consensus (Median = 8; rank = 3–9). Level of evidence 5. (5) PRP should not be mixed with an anesthetic or intra-articular corticosteroid. This recommendation was considered appropriate with a relative agreement (Median = 9; rank = 6–9). Level of evidence 5
Conclusion
Those 25 recommendations should standardize and facilitate the use of IA PRP injections, which are considered by experts as an effective treatment especially in early or moderate knee OA. Although a strong or relative agreement from the experts was obtained for most of the recommendations, many of them had a very low level of evidence (Level 5) and were principally based on the clinical experience of the experts.
Viscosupplementation (VS) is a symptomatic treatment for knee and other joint osteoarthritis (OA). Despite a long history of use, conflicting opinions remain on the best clinical indications and the ...most appropriate patients to be treated with intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IA-HA), the optimal dosing regimen and the modalities of retreatment. A multidisciplinary committee of European experts on OA (EUROVISCO) was constituted to formulate recommendations, aimed at helping physicians in the decision-making and the optimal achievement of VS. Before each session members were tasked to collate an exhaustive literature review. Level of evidence and strength of recommendation were based on the level of agreement for each item according to the Delphi method. In 2015, a consensus position was proposed for 24 statements. Among those that obtained a consensual agreement, the working group stressed that VS is effective in mild/moderate knee OA but is not an alternative to surgery in advanced OA, and that dosing regimen must be supported by controlled trials. In 2018, two decision algorithms for the retreatment with IA-HA in knee OA were published. Among the key recommendations, the experts recommended to re-treat every year patients with high risk of OA progression, even if not symptomatic. In 2020, EUROVISCO published two sets of recommendations for the design of clinical trials on the disease-modifying effect of VS and for optimizing the results of VS. The working group underlined that an accurate analysis of radiological features and symptoms and a careful clinical examination may improve the chances of success of VS, as well as good technique of injection and the use of imaging guidance. Based on the exhaustive analysis of the literature and their own clinical experience, the EUROVISCO experts offer a wide range of recommendations intended to help practitioners, particularly in certain cases where the specific characteristics of the patients make the therapeutic decision difficult.
The article Intra‑articular injections of platelet‑rich plasma in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a consensus statement from French‑speaking experts, written by Florent Eymard, Paul Ornetti, Jérémy ...Maillet, Éric Noel, Philippe Adam, Virginie Legre-Boyer, Thierry Boyer, Fadoua Allali, Vincent Gremeaux, Jean-Francois Kaux, Karine Louati, Martin Lamontagne, Fabrice Michel, Pascal Richette, Hervé Bard on behalf of the GRIP (Groupe de Recherche sur les Injections de PRP, PRP Injection Research Group), was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal on 24 June 2020 without open access.
Rationale
Viscosupplementation (VS) with hyaluronic acid is widely used in the management of knee osteoarthritis. There is no clear recommendation on the decision-making to achieve VS.
Design
Based ...on extensive research of the literature and expert opinion, the members of the EUROVISCO (European Viscosupplementation Consensus Group) task force were asked to give their degree of agreement with 60 issues, using a Delphi method.
Results
The expert panel achieved unanimous agreement in favor of the following statements: It is recommended to assess pain on a visual or 10-point numeric scale before considering VS. VS can be considered for patients with pain scores between 3 and 8. A standard x-ray must be obtained before the decision of VS. If the x-ray is normal, osteoarthritis must be confirmed by MRI or computed tomography (CT) arthrogram before considering VS. The aims of VS are relieving pain, improving function, and reducing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) consumption. The use of VS must not be considered for treating an osteoarthritis flare. VS can be envisaged as a first-line pharmacological treatment in patients having a contra-indication to NSAIDs or analgesics. VS can be considered in patients with contra-indications to arthroplasty. In the case of severe comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, gastrointestinal disorders, renal failure), VS can avoid the use of potentially dangerous treatments. VS can be considered in patients receiving antiplatelet agents, vitamin K antagonists, and direct factor Xa or thrombin inhibitors. Five other statements obtained a high level of consensus.
Conclusion
These recommendations, illustrated in a decision algorithm, have been established to help practitioners in the decision-making of knee VS.
Objectives
The 3 aims of the work were to identify population subgroups that can benefit the most from viscosupplementation (VS), to provide recommendations on injection techniques, and to discuss VS ...appropriateness in clinical situations that are commonplace in daily practice.
Methods
The task force members voted on their degree of agreement on 27 statements, 36 recommendations, and 22 clinical scenarios using a 9-point scale. The strength of agreement/appropriateness/recommendation (SOA/SOR) was classified as strong if the median agreement score was ≥8. The level of consensus (LOC) was also obtained.
Results
Among the assumed predictors for VS failure, obesity, radiographic severity, large synovial fluid effusion, severe patellofemoral involvement, major malalignment, and gross joint instability received a large majority of agreements. The lateral mid-patellar approach was recommended for knee injection. Imaging guidance was unanimously recommended for hip and ankle. Agreement was achieved to strictly respect the dosing regimen proven by controlled trials. There was agreement for treating with VS patients with mild to moderate knee and hip OA, with normal weight or moderate overweight, insufficiently improved by first-line therapies, or who do not wish get oral treatment or who have contraindications to pain killers. The group considered the patient’s wishes as a key element in therapeutic decision making.
Conclusion
Based on literature data and clinical experience, the EUROVISCO group proposed a set of recommendations for optimizing the results of VS, aimed to help practitioners, especially in some cases in which the patients’ specificities make the therapeutic decision difficult.
Background
Viscosupplementation (VS) is a symptomatic treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Although systematic reviews of its repeat use showed favorable benefit/risk ratio, no study has focused on the ...indication of retreatment.
Methods
A task force was created to look at issues regarding retreatment with VS in knee osteoarthritis. An attempt was made to reach consensus on several issues: (1) to define treatment “success” and “failure,” (2) to determine when to retreat patients successfully treated by a previous VS, (3) to determine how to retreat patients in whom VS failed, (4) to define what to do in case of adverse reaction following previous VS, and (5) to examine the interests of soluble biomarkers to manage retreatment. After debate and review of literature the working group voted on 88 issues. Two “decision trees” were built based on the results of the votes.
Results
In case of failure, the authors draw attention to the need of a rigorous clinical and radiological analysis, and consider evidence-based medicine. When VS was previously successful, retreatment can be considered after recurrence or increase in pain. However, in subjects with high risk of disease progression, in young patients, and in professional sportsmen, retreatment could be considered systematically, because of the probability of hyaluronic acid to slow osteoarthritis progression. Evidence on soluble biomarkers was not considered as enough strong to support their use as decision tools for patient retreatment.
Conclusion
The decision algorithms are intended to facilitate consideration of the therapeutic options, in patients with knee osteoarthritis previously treated with VS.
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