Introduction
osteoarthritis, pain, OA, disability
OSTEOARTHRITIS, OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE
The global prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) has been increasing from 247.51 million in 1990 to 527.81 million in 2019 particularly at the knee and hip sites. OA of the knee contributed the most to the overall burden and has become the leading cause of disability [Several studies found that intraarticular (IA) corticosteroids for example triamcinolone acetonide (TA), triamcinolone hexacetonide, methylprednisolone acetate and hydrocortisone improve symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee [Although IA corticosteroids demonstrated efficacies in relieving pain in knee OA which allows patients to utilize the joints with minimal pain, there is an ongoing concern about the cartilage safety and long-term OA progression. Furthermore, the catabolic effects of IA corticosteroids might have negative effects to chondrocytes, which in turns results in long-term damage to the joints [Given the proven efficacies of IA corticosteroid for knee OA and the concerns about long-term joint damage, the lower dose of IA corticosteroid could be effective in the treatment of knee OA. Intraarticular triamcinolone 10 mg has been effectively used for the treatment of knee OA in clinical practice. However, there has been no randomized controlled trial to demonstrate its efficacy. We performed a non-inferiority, multi-centered, randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial to compare between the effectiveness of IA TA 10 mg with IA TA40 mg for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.