Evaluation of two therapeutic options for naturally occurring osteoarthritis in police working dogs

Abstract

To compare the effectiveness of intra-articular (IA) methylprednisolone-acetate and triamcinolone acetonide in the management of naturally occurring hip osteoarthritis, 20 dogs were divided into two groups according to the drug injected per joint: GT (20 mg of triamcinolone acetonide) and GMPA (40 mg methylprednisolone). Animals were treated at T0 (treatment day), and further evaluations were conducted at T1 (15 days after treatment), T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, and T7 (one, two, three, four, five, and six months after treatment respectively). Response to treatment was measured using the Canine Brief Pain Inventory and Hudson Visual Analogue Scale, p < 0.05. Treatment was successful in reducing the pain severity score in two animals of GT at T1 (20 %), three at T2–T3 (37.5 %), and two at T4–T7 (28.6 %). For GMPA, treatment was successful in two animals at T1 (20 %), four at T2 (40 %), three at T3 (30 %), and two at T4–T5 (20 %). When considering pain interference score, treatment was successful in two animals in both GT and GMPA from T1–T7. No significant differences were observed when comparing each moment with T0 or between groups. Intra-articular TA and MPA injection may be a treatment option for some patients, as some benefited from IA with TA and MPA