Clinical Efficacy of 2-Needle Joint Lavage for Osteoarthritis-Related Knee Pain and Predictors of Response Based on Knee MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score: A Medical Records Review Study

Abstract

Background Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is notoriously difficult to treat. Pain is the key symptom for patients to seek medical attention. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of joint lavage (JL) for OA-related knee pain and to explore the knee pathological changes detected by magnetic resonance imaging that may affect the prognosis of patients who received JL. Methods Eighty-two hospitalized patients who were diagnosed with knee OA and received JL in our department were finally enrolled in this study. The patients' clinical data including Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain subscale, analgesic medication usage, adverse events, and magnetic resonance imaging data of the affected knee joint scored by the MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score were recorded and analyzed. Results The NRS scores significantly decreased after JL and remained steady until 6 months (p < 0.001). The Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index pain scores and the percentage of patients who needed analgesic medication significantly decreased at 6 months compared with baseline (p < 0.001). At 6 months after JL, 51 of the 82 patients experienced ≥50% improvement in their NRS scores (effective). Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis revealed that duration of pain (odds ratio [OR], 1.022; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.003–1.042; p = 0.024), bone marrow lesion score (OR, 1.221; 95% CI, 1.028–1.450; p = 0.023), and cartilage loss score (OR, 1.272; 95% CI, 1.021–1.585; p = 0.032) significantly influenced the therapeutic efficacy of JL. Conclusions JL treatment can significantly alleviate the OA-related knee pain in at least 6 months. JL tends to provide limited benefit for patients with long duration of pain, serious bone marrow lesions, and severe cartilage loss.