Effects of triamcinolone acetonide on an in vivo equine osteochondral fragment exercise model

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of intra-articularly administered triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in exercised equine athletes with carpal osteochondral fragmentation. Eighteen horses were randomly assigned to each of 3 groups. An osteochondral chip fragment was created in one randomly chosen intercarpal joint of each horse. Both intercarpal joints in the placebo control group (CNT) horses were injected with intra-articular administration (IA) of polyionic fluid. Both joints in the TA control group (TA CNT) horses were treated with 12 mg of TA in the intercarpal joint without an osteochondral fragment, and the opposite intercarpal joint was injected with a similar volume of polyionic fluid. The TA treated group (TA TX) horses were treated with 12 mg of TA in the joint that contained the osteochondral fragment and the opposite intercarpal joint was injected with a similar volume of polyionic fluid. All horses were treated IA on days 13 and 27 after surgery and exercised on a high speed treadmill for 6 weeks starting on Day 14. Horses in the TA TX group were significantly less lame than horses in the CNT and TA CNT groups. Horses in either TA CNT or TA TX groups had lower total protein, and higher hyaluronan, and glycosaminoglycan concentrations in synovial fluid than did those in the CNT group. Synovial membrane collected from subjects in TA CNT and TA TX groups had significantly less inflammatory cell infiltration, subintimal hyperplasia and subintimal fibrosis compared to the CNT group. Articular cartilage histomorphological parameters were significantly better from the TA CNT and TA TX groups compared to the CNT group. In conclusions, results from this study support favourable effects of TA on degree of clinically detectable lameness, and on synovial fluid, synovial membrane, and articular cartilage morphological parameters, both with direct intra-articular administration and remote site administration as compared to placebo treatment. The clinical use of IA administered TA in horses may be therapeutically beneficial in selected cases of osteochondral fragmentation and osteoarthritis.