Influence of Age on the Effectiveness of Intra-Articular Infiltration of Triamcinolone Hexacetonide in Patients With Primary Knee Osteoarthritis: A Cohort Study

Abstract

BACKGROUNDKnee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic arthropathy. OA has great impact on patients' life quality and can lead to impairment. Age is one of the most important risk factors for OA development. There is no treatment to change the course of the disease; however, intra-articular infiltration (IIA) with corticosteroids is commonly used for its efficacy in controlling pain. Even so, there is few data evaluating the influence of age on IIA response. METHODSA cohort study was performed to evaluate the influence of age on the response to IIA with triamcinolone hexacetonide (TH). All patients were submitted to IIA with 40 mg of TH in the affected knee. Then they were accessed by a blinded observer on weeks T0, T4 and T12. The variables analyzed were visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain at rest and in movement; functional questionnaire, WOMAC; life quality questionnaire, SF36; and the functional test Timed Up and Go. They were divided in two groups: older and younger group. Groups were paired for demographic variables, Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic classification criteria, body mass index and VAS for pain at rest and in movement at baseline. RESULTSSixty patients were analyzed: 29 on the younger group, with a mean age of 56 years and 31 patients on the older group, with a mean age of 75 years. The vast majority were women, 93% in younger group and 91% in older group. The mean time from diagnostic were 5 years on younger group and 6 years on the older. In all variables it has been observed an improvement in intragroup analyzes (p < 0.05) when comparing T0 to T12. However, there has not been found difference in the intergroup analyzes in any of the variables. CONCLUSIONOn this study age has no influence on IIA with TH response.