Intra-articular treatment of knee osteoarthritis. A comparative study between hyaluronic acid and 6-methyl prednisolone acetate.

The efficacy and tolerability of 20 mg of hyaluronic acid were compared in an open, randomized trial with that of 40 mg of 6-methylprednisolone acetate, administering them both by an intra-articular route once a week for 3 weeks to patients suffering from inflammatory knee osteoarthritis. The results of the study showed that for up to one week after the end of treatment hyaluronic acid's analgesic activity was comparable to that of the steroid, while at the end of the follow-up (45 days after the end of treatment) all the pain monitoring parameters presented significant differences in favour of the HA-treated group. Both treatments were well tolerated, since no local or systemic adverse reactions were observed.