A recent report shows that intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid or betamethasone are similarly effective and well-tolerated treatments for Kellgren–Lawrence grade II–III rhizarthrosis. However, in the most severely affected patients (baseline functional index score ≥5 and pain score ≥3), hyaluronic acid led to substantially improved functioning versus betamethasone at 90 days and 180 days of follow-up. Patients with baseline pain scores ≥5 receiving hyaluronic acid showed substantial improvements after just 2 weeks, and these benefits were sustained for 180 days.
References
Montfort, J. et al. Comparative efficacy of intra-articular hyaluronic acid and corticoid injections in osteoarthritis of the first carpometacarpal joint: Results of a 6-month single-masked randomized study. Joint Bone Spine 10.1016/j.jbspin.2014.08.008
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Intra-articular hyaluronic acid therapy in severe rhizarthrosis. Nat Rev Rheumatol 10, 698 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2014.185
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2014.185