Clinical Outcomes of Injectable Hyaluronic Acid-Glucosamine Combination in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Saudi Multicenter...

Background Knee osteoarthritis (OA) remains one of the most common issues causing chronic pain, reduced mobility, and functional limitations in everyday orthopedic practice. Although hyaluronic acid injections are often used for managing symptoms, clinical data regarding injectable hyaluronic acid-glucosamine combination products remain scarce. In this study, we evaluated short- and mid-term clinical outcomes of a single intra-articular hyaluronic acid-glucosamine injection in patients with symptomatic knee OA treated in routine outpatient settings. Methods This multicenter retrospective study included 44 patients with symptomatic knee OA treated in orthopedic outpatient clinics in Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During routine care, each patient received a single, clinically guided, intra-articular hyaluronic acid-glucosamine injection. Outcomes were assessed using the Lequesne Algofunctional Index and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores recorded at baseline, approximately six weeks, and six months post-injection. Secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction and treatment-related adverse events. Results Mean Lequesne score decreased from 19.18 ± 3.41 at baseline to 16.36 ± 3.63 at approximately six weeks and 13.28 ± 3.09 at six months based on paired t-test analysis (p < 0.001). Mean VAS pain score decreased from 7.48 ± 1.17 at baseline to 5.73 ± 1.53 at six weeks and 4.21 ± 1.20 at six months (p < 0.001). Most patients reported favorable symptomatic and functional improvement, with an overall mean satisfaction score of 4.21 ± 0.73 out of 5. Reported adverse events were mild and transient, consisting mainly of short-duration post-injection pain and minor local inflammatory reactions. No serious treatment-related adverse events or joint infections were documented. Conclusions In this retrospective cohort, a single intra-articular hyaluronic acid-glucosamine injection was associated with improved pain and functional scores over a six-month follow-up period in patients with symptomatic knee OA. The intervention was generally well tolerated in this routine outpatient cohort. These findings should be interpreted cautiously, given the small sample size and absence of a comparator group.