Real world impact of the high concentration non-avian high molecular weight hyaluronan on pain medication use among osteoarthritis patients

AbstractObjective: A prior study found that hyaluronic acid (HA) treatment may help reduce pain medications use (such as steroids, NSAIDs, and opioids) among knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients in the real-world setting. This study aims to update the prior study results to include only the high concentration non-avian high molecular weight hyaluronan (HMW-HA) injectables using recent years data.Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study utilizing IBM Marketscan Commercial data from 2008 to 2015.Methods: Commercially insured patients between 18 and 64 years of age who received high concentration non-avian HMW-HA (Orthovisc®) between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2015 were identified. Utilization of three prescription pharmacotherapies commonly used in the treatment for knee OA: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroid injections, and opioids in 6 months pre and post periods were assessed. Utilization was measured as number of prescriptions, and any prescription (yes/no). The ind...