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Objectives: The 3 aims of the work were to identify population subgroups that can benefit the most from viscosupplementation (VS), to provide recommendations on injection techniques, and to discuss VS appropriateness in clinical situations that are commonplace in daily practice., Methods: The task force members voted on their degree of agreement on 27 statements, 36 recommendations, and 22 clinical scenarios using a 9-point scale. The strength of agreement/appropriateness/recommendation (SOA/SOR) was classified as strong if the median agreement score was ≥8. The level of consensus (LOC) was also obtained., Results: Among the assumed predictors for VS failure, obesity, radiographic severity, large synovial fluid effusion, severe patellofemoral involvement, major malalignment, and gross joint instability received a large majority of agreements. The lateral mid-patellar approach was recommended for knee injection. Imaging guidance was unanimously recommended for hip and ankle. Agreement was achieved to strictly respect the dosing regimen proven by controlled trials. There was agreement for treating with VS patients with mild to moderate knee and hip OA, with normal weight or moderate overweight, insufficiently improved by first-line therapies, or who do not wish get oral treatment or who have contraindications to pain killers. The group considered the patient's wishes as a key element in therapeutic decision making., Conclusion: Based on literature data and clinical experience, the EUROVISCO group proposed a set of recommendations for optimizing the results of VS, aimed to help practitioners, especially in some cases in which the patients' specificities make the therapeutic decision difficult.

With a sharp rise in the prevalence of osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) in a younger population, new management strategies are needed to preserve mobility, improve patients' quality of life, and reduce the effects of potential disease-related comorbidities. Viscosupplementation with the use of hyaluronic acid (HA) injection is a treatment option for OAK that can provide lubrication and elastic shock absorption, leading to potential pain relief, improved function, and reduced stiffness. A key opinion leader (KOL) panel discussion was held December 3, 2016, with the objective of sharing opinions, ideas, information, and trends regarding OAK and the potential treatment and management offered by viscosupplementation. The panel concluded that viscosupplementation with HA injections presents a viable, cost-effective, and safe alternative for the treatment of OAK., Disclosures: This panel discussion and report was facilitated by Magellan Rx Manage-ment and funded by Sanofi. Bert and Ruane report fees from Sanofi outside of this project. Sgaglione reports royalty payments from Zimmer Biomet and Wolters Kluwer. Dasa has received fees from Bioventus and Myoscience. All the authors received an honorarium for work on this project. Lopes is employed by Magellan Rx Management.

Objectives: Hyaluronic acid (HA) is used for intraarticular treatment of hip osteoarthritis (OA). The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of intraarticular injection of HA through a lateral approach under fluoroscopic control for advanced hip OA., Methods: The study included 21 patients with advanced hip OA. All patients received 2.5 ml HA injection once a week for 3 weeks by lateral approach under fluoroscopic control. Disability (Lequesne index), pain scores (visual analog scale-VAS) and analgesic use of patients were assessed before treatment and 1, 3 and 6 months after the treatment., Results: Lequesne index and VAS pain scores measured 1, 3 and 6 months after treatment were significantly lower compared to baseline scores (p<0.001). Although analgesic use was significantly reduced 1 and 3 months after treatment compared to baseline (p<0.05), no difference was determined in analgesic use at the 6th month (p>0.05). No side effect was observed., Conclusion: In conclusion, intraarticular HA injection through a lateral approach under fluoroscopic control was shown to be a safe and effective method for patients with advanced hip OA.