The Effects of Ultrasound-Guided Intra-Articular Injections with Hyaluronic Acid and Corticosteroids in Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis: A Long-Term Real-World Analysis

Abstract

Intra-articular (IA) ultrasound-guided hip injections are currently considered a cornerstone of the conservative management of symptomatic hip osteoarthritis (HOA), although their effect on clinical outcomes has not been fully elucidated.The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound-guided IA hip injections of hyaluronic acid (HA) with or without corticosteroids (CS) on pain relief and functional improvement in patients with HOA. In total, 167 patients with HOA were assessed at baseline (T0) and 12 months after injection (T1) using the VAS and GLFS scores. The sample consisted mainly of female subjects (58.1%), presenting an average age of 70.6 ± 12.2 years and grade 3 HOA (63.9%) according to the Kellgren–Lawrence classification. Most of the patients (76.2%) underwent unilateral hip injection with a combination of medium-high molecular weight HA (1500–2000 kDa) and CS. At T1, lower use of anti-inflammatory drugs, an increase in the consumption of chondroprotectors, and an overall reduction of instrumental physical therapies and therapeutic exercise were recorded. In addition, a statistically significant intragroup and between-group decrease observed at T1 for both the VAS and GLFS. Study results suggested that intra-articular hip injections with HA alone and with CS could represent a useful therapeutic tool for pain reduction and functional improvement for patients with hip osteoarthritis.