Treatment of chronic articular effusions with 90-yttrium (90Y)

In an open, controlled trial, radioactive 90Yttrium was injected in doses of 3-6 mCi into 40 joints with chronic effusions in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatoid diseases. The processing in a computer was carried out by the punch card method. Intra-articular administration of 90Y resulted in a significant improvement of five objective criteria. In our study we have paid particular attention to the clinical and statistical differentiation of the effects of systemic, and especially of basic therapy, from the effects of topical intra-articular therapy. At the time of the last check-up examination, 43% of the patients were free of any effusion. The treatment was well tolerated. Skin necrosis occurred in only one single case. Intra-articular treatment with radioactive 90Yttrium represents a valuable contribution to the therapeutic arsenal for the treatment of the chronic articular effusions when all other methods of treatment failed.