Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacoeconomics and Drug Pricing, Saudi Food and Drug, Authority, P.O. Box 84983, Riyadh 11681, Saudi Arabia.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2021 Sep 19;57(9):990. doi: 10.3390/medicina57090990.
Multiple hyaluronic acid (HA) products were approved and marketed to manage osteoarthritis (OA). Although these products are widely prescribed by orthopedic surgeons to manage OA, especially knee OA, the therapeutic value of these products is highly uncertain. Few studies with significant limitations in their designs have indicated positive outcomes among OA patients treated with HA; however, their results were inconclusive. Thus, we aimed to explore the therapeutic value of different HA products in alleviating knee OA pain and improving patients' physical function from the orthopedic surgeons' perspective. : This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study in which practicing orthopedic surgeons in two countries (e.g., Saudi Arabia and Jordan) were invited to participate. The 10-item, newly developed questionnaire inquired about the respondents' sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, country, years of experience), and their opinions regarding the efficacy of HA products in the management of OA (e.g., efficacy in improving mobility and alleviating pain). : Out of the 200 orthopedic surgeons who were invited to participate, 122 (61%) filled out the questionnaire. Most of the respondents were from Saudi Arabia (58%), aged 35 to 55 years (68%), had at least 10 years of experience (69%), and male (98%). About 80% of the respondents reported prescribing HA, such as Hyalgan, Orthovisc, Hyalubrix, and Crespine Gel. About 66% of the respondents believed that HA was moderately to highly effective in managing knee OA, and 34% believed that HA was either ineffective or mildly effective. Pain at the site of injection (44.3%) and rash or local skin reactions (22.1%) were the most commonly reported adverse events. : The variations in the formulation of different HA brands (e.g., molecular weight and cross-linking) did not seem to offer any therapeutic advantage. HA might have value in the management of knee OA; however, its value is highly uncertain and necessitates more well-designed studies to further examine its therapeutic value.
多种透明质酸（HA）产品已获得批准并上市，用于治疗骨关节炎（OA）。尽管这些产品被骨科医生广泛用于治疗 OA，尤其是膝骨关节炎，但这些产品的治疗价值仍高度不确定。少数设计存在重大局限性的研究表明，接受 HA 治疗的 OA 患者有积极的结果，但这些结果尚无定论。因此，我们旨在从骨科医生的角度探讨不同 HA 产品在缓解膝骨关节炎疼痛和改善患者身体功能方面的治疗价值。
这是一项基于问卷的横断面研究，邀请了来自两个国家（如沙特阿拉伯和约旦）的骨科医生参与。新开发的 10 项问卷询问了受访者的社会人口统计学特征（如年龄、性别、国家、从业年限），以及他们对 HA 产品在 OA 管理中的疗效的看法（如改善活动能力和缓解疼痛的疗效）。
在受邀参加的 200 名骨科医生中，有 122 名（61%）填写了问卷。大多数受访者来自沙特阿拉伯（58%），年龄在 35 至 55 岁之间（68%），从业年限至少 10 年（69%），男性（98%）。约 80%的受访者报告处方使用了 HA，如 Hyalgan、Orthovisc、Hyalubrix 和 Crespine Gel。约 66%的受访者认为 HA 对管理膝骨关节炎中度至高度有效，34%的受访者认为 HA 无效或轻度有效。注射部位疼痛（44.3%）和皮疹或局部皮肤反应（22.1%）是最常报告的不良事件。
不同 HA 品牌（如分子量和交联度）的配方变化似乎并没有带来任何治疗优势。HA 可能对膝骨关节炎的管理有价值，但价值高度不确定，需要更多精心设计的研究来进一步研究其治疗价值。
