Abstract

Hip osteoarthritis (OA) is usually managed with systemic treatments such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and/or symptomatic slow-acting drugs. Unfortunately, many patients either cannot tolerate NSAIDs or suffer serious, even fatal, NSAID-induced side effects, predominantly gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding. Viscosupplementation, which aims to restore physiological and rheological features of the synovial fluid, is a well-accepted therapeutic option in knee OA patients, but limited data exist in the literature about its potential benefit for the treatment of hip OA. The purpose of this study is to observe the effects of hylan G-F 20 administered through ultrasound (US)-guided intra-articular (IA) injections in patients with symptomatic hip OA. We treated 30 patients with symptomatic hip OA. Under US guidance, 7 patients received one injection, 21 patients had two injections, and 2 patients received three injections, each with 2 ml of hylan G-F 20. Lequesne index, VAS scale of hip pain, and NSAID consumption were evaluated at baseline as well as 2 and 6 months after the beginning of the treatment. No systemic adverse events were observed. Lequesne index, VAS pain score, and NSAID consumption showed a reduction that was statistically significant to the baseline. The present observation suggests the potentiality for the safety and efficacy of hylan G-F 20 injected under US guidance in patients with symptomatic hip OA. Further controlled studies are needed.