Treatment Journey for Nonoperative Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis: Data from a New Real-World Registry

There is a wide range of nonoperative options to manage symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). This paper aimed to 1) define the treatment sequence for patients undergoing up to four subsequent rounds (i.e., cryoneurolysis) of superficial (Cryo-Superficial) and/or deep genicular nerves (Cryo-Deep/Both), intra-articular corticosteroid injections (IA-CS), triamcinolone extended-release (IA-TA-ER), hyaluronic acid (IA-HA), or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (IA-NSAIDs); 2) compare usage of extended-release versus standard corticosteroid injections; and 3) quantify distribution of repeated treatments.

We identified 502 patients with symptomatic knee OA and received nonoperative intervention within the Innovations in Genicular Outcomes (IGOR) registry from 2021 to 2024. Treatment journey during follow up was presented aggregating baseline patient demographics, along with sequence of nonoperative treatments per patient, duration, and frequency of repeated use. Repeated use of Round 1 treatment for subsequent treatment rounds was estimated with descriptive statistics.

Fifty-three percent of patients received only the original Round 1 treatment option, either single/repeated dose and did not receive any alternative treatment. Seventy-three percent of patients treated with intra-articular extended-release triamcinolone (IA-TAER) repeated the treatment at least once, whereas 60% of those treated with other treatments did so. No adverse events were reported in patients during repeated treatments.

Patients who received IA-TAER were more likely to repeat the same injection, with 73% repeating at least once and no adverse events were attributed to repeated injections. Approximately half of the patients have switched from the initial treatment offered during follow up, with the use of IA-TAER associated with higher rates of repeated treatment. Significance and Innovation 1. Our study used a newly developed real-world registry IGOR to characterize treatment progression for patients with symptomatic knee OA undergoing up to five rounds of nonoperative treatment. 2. Non-surgical interventions included cryoneurolysis, intra-articular injections of NSAIDs, hyaluronic acid injections, corticosteroid, or extended release steroid (triamcinolone) injections. 3. We found 73% of patients treated with intra-articular extended-release steroid injections repeated treatment at least once, relative to 60% by other treatments. 4. We found approximately half of patients switched from initial treatment offered during follow up, with the use of IA-TAER associated with higher rates of repeated treatment.