Patient Perceptions Regarding Viscosupplementation for Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Viscosupplementation as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis is widely used, though current literature is controversial regarding its efficacy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient perceptions regarding viscosupplementation as a treatment for knee OA. A questionnaire was administered randomly to 200 patients of a community-based orthopedic practice. Items focused on subjective patient outcomes in regard to their experience with viscosupplementation, as well as WOMAC symptom scores. One hundred and fifteen completed surveys were returned (response rate = 57.5%). Fiftyone patients (44.3%) reported some relief of symptoms and 18 patients (15.7%) reported large relief. Fifty-eight patients (50.4%) described their relief as lasting 1-4 weeks, with only 15 patients (13.0%) reporting 6 or more months of relief. Fifty-three patients (46.1%) stated they had more symptom relief with viscosupplementation when compared to corticosteroid injections. One hundred and ten patients (95.7%) had no prior surgery for knee OA. Ninety-two patients (80.0%) had not experienced any adverse effects. One hundred and eight patients (93.9%) stated they felt the treatment was worth the cost. One hundred and one patients (87.8%) said they would recommend viscosupplementation to another patient. Average WOMAC scores for patients who responded with no relief of symptoms was 80.4, while the average WOMAC score was 8.6 for those responding with complete relief.In conclusion, viscosupplementation has a positive treatment effect, possibly placebo, in a majority of patients, especially those with milder symptoms, and may provide improved symptom relief when compared to corticosteroid injections. More affordable viscosupplementation options must be investigated in the future.