[Appliance of viscosupplementation in osteoarthritis treatment]

Viscosupplementation or intraarticular appliance of hyaluronic acid is one of the methods in the treatment of patients with OA. Application is indicated in OA grade I-III according to Kellgren. Medical devices of hyaluronic acid, present on Croatian market, are produced by extraction from rooster combs or by biofermentation from nonpathogenic streptococcus strains. Boifermentative production excludes present of animal origin proteins and prions in medical device, same as possibility of unwanted alergic reactions appearance. Numerous researches have proved that this kind of treatment is safe, effective, well tolerated and it can be repeated if needed. Alleviation of the symptoms is proved up to one year after the last i.a. injection of hyaluronic acid. Appliance of viscosupplementation significantly slows down progression of OA and more invasive treatment methods are usually prolonged or delayed.