Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
Clinical Protocol of Producing Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Vascular Fraction for Potential Cartilage Regeneration
Published on: September 29, 2018
Viscosupplementation for osteoarthritis of the knee: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Anne W S Rutjes1, Peter Jüni, Bruno R da Costa
1Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Clinical Trials Unit Bern, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
Background:
Viscosupplementation, the intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid, is widely used for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.
Purpose:
To assess the benefits and risks of viscosupplementation for adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.
Data Sources:
MEDLINE (1966 to January 2012), EMBASE (1980 to January 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1970 to January 2012), and other sources.
Study Selection:
Randomized trials in any language that compared viscosupplementation with sham or nonintervention control in adults with knee osteoarthritis.
Data Extraction:
Primary outcomes were pain intensity and flare-ups. Secondary outcomes included function and serious adverse events. Reviewers used duplicate abstractions, assessed study quality, pooled data by using a random-effects model, examined funnel plots, and explored heterogeneity by using meta-regression.
Data Synthesis:
Eighty-nine trials involving 12 667 adults met inclusion criteria. Sixty-eight had a sham control, 40 had a follow-up duration greater than 3 months, and 22 used cross-linked forms of hyaluronic acid. Overall, 71 trials (9617 patients) showed that viscosupplementation moderately reduced pain (effect size, -0.37 [95% CI, -0.46 to -0.28]). There was important between-trial heterogeneity and an asymmetrical funnel plot: Trial size, blinded outcome assessment, and publication status were associated with effect size. Five unpublished trials (1149 patients) showed an effect size of -0.03 (CI, -0.14 to 0.09). Eighteen large trials with blinded outcome assessment (5094 patients) showed a clinically irrelevant effect size of -0.11 (CI, -0.18 to -0.04). Six trials (811 patients) showed that viscosupplementation increased, although not statistically significantly, the risk for flare-ups (relative risk, 1.51 [CI, 0.84 to 2.72]). Fourteen trials (3667 patients) showed that viscosupplementation increased the risk for serious adverse events (relative risk, 1.41 [CI, 1.02 to 1.97]).
Limitations:
Trial quality was generally low. Safety data were often not reported.
Conclusion:
In patients with knee osteoarthritis, viscosupplementation is associated with a small and clinically irrelevant benefit and an increased risk for serious adverse events.
Primary Funding Source:
Arco Foundation.
