[Effectiveness of two intraarticular drugs in patients with knee arthrosis. Polymerized collagen versus hylan]

The purpose of osteoarthrosis treatment is to improve patient's pain and quality of life. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the first choice but their effectiveness is questionable due to the risk of secondary gastric disease and renal failure. Intra-articular drugs are a safe and effective alternative to improve symptoms and function; they may delay surgery but we don't know if they are disease modifying. Our objective was to compare knee function and pain in patients with osteoarthrosis until treatment is finished. Our hypothesis is that there is no difference in the results of both groups.

A prospective, simple, randomized non blinded trial where we studied two groups of patients with knee osteoarthrosis. Group 1 was treated with Collagen PVP and Group 2 received hylan GF-20. We gave patients a subjective questionnaire of the International Knee Committee IKDC and pain was measured using the visual analog scale at the beginning of treatment, after one month and after three months.

Decrease in pain measured with the visual analog scale is statistically significant in both groups, however, when comparing both groups we did not find differences. The results of the IKDC were the same in both groups, there was no difference except in baseline measurements and in the final result.