SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2025
Intra-articular Hyaluronic Acid Injections May Be Beneficial in Patients with Less Advanced Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- No significant short-term advantages of corticosteroids-augmented intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid for knee osteoarthritis : A meta-analysis.Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Pooled it
- Intra-articular injections for shoulder arthritis in adults: a systematic review.European journal of medical research · 2025Pooled it
- A prospective, open-label, clinical investigation of a single intra-articular polyacrylamide hydrogel injection in participants with knee osteoarthritis: a 5-year extension study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Trial
- Non-Biologic Injections in Sports Medicine.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2026Review
- Association Between Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid Injections and Reduction in Analgesic Prescriptions in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Real-World Study from German Outpatient Care.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Repeated (Weekly) Intra-Articular Injections of Sulfated Galactans Attenuate Cartilage Degeneration in a Rat Model of Osteoarthritis.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2026Article
- RNA-Seq of Gingival Fibroblasts Grown on Collagen Membranes and Hyaluronic Acid.Journal of functional biomaterials · 2026Article
- Orthobiologic injections for hip osteoarthritis: A systematic review of clinical outcomes.Orthopedic reviews · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundKnee osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that impairs quality of life. Hyaluronic acid (HA) injections are used to restore synovial fluid viscosity and improve joint function.
objectivesThe present systematic review investigated the prognostic factors influencing the effect of intra-articular HA injections for knee osteoarthritis (OA). The endpoint of interest was whether patient characteristics and molecular weight of the HA influence patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at different follow-ups.
methodsThis study was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the 2020 PRISMA statement. All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the efficacy of intra-articular HA injections in the knee were accessed. Data concerning the visual analogue scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and Lequesne scales were collected at baseline and the last follow-up. OA was scored using the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) classification. The endpoint of interest was whether patient characteristics and the molecular weight of HA influence clinical outcomes.
resultsThe study included 71 RCTs and data from 10,590 patients; 67% (7082 of 10,570) were women. The mean age of the patients was 61.8 ± 5.1 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 27.8 ± 2.3 kg/m
conclusionsHA injections lead to an initial worsening of symptoms; however, patients with early stage osteoarthritis, particularly older women, may experience significant long-term improvements. Further research should standardise treatment protocols and investigate the role of HA molecular weight in optimising outcomes.
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