Therapeutic synergism between hyaluronic acid and dexamethasone in the intra-articular treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: a preliminary open study

40 patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomized to five weekly intraarticular injections of hyaluronic acid with or without an additional corticosteroid injection in the first week. The purpose of this study was to compared pain and joint mobility between groups over 60-day follow-up after the initiation of treatment. Results demonstrated marked decreases in pain within both groups over follow-up, typically plateauing after 28 days (end of treatment) and maintained to 60 days. In the analysis of spontaneous pain specifically, pain scores were significantly lower in the HA+CS group compared to the HA alone group at 60 days.