Viscosupplementation for knee osteoarthritis. Issue 3 (14th February 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zychowicz, Michael E.
• Is Part Of: Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Volume 26:Issue 3(2014)
• Page Start: 163
• Page End: 175
• Publication Date: 2014-02-14
• Subjects: Nurse practitioners -- Periodicals; Nursing -- Periodicals; 610.730692
• DOI: 10.1002/2327-6924.12103
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2327-6886

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="jaan12103-sec-0010" sec-type="section"> <title>Purpose</title> <p>To provide an overview of the diagnosis and pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA), and to describe appropriate treatments for knee OA, with a focus on the efficacy and safety of viscosupplementation. Because nurse practitioners (NPs) can inject viscosupplements, a section on injection technique is included.</p> </sec> <sec id="jaan12103-sec-0020" sec-type="section"> <title>Data sources</title> <p>Manuscripts were identified using PubMed and EMBASE with a review of the reference lists from retrieved articles.</p> </sec> <sec id="jaan12103-sec-0030" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>Viscosupplements are safe and effective at improving function and alleviating knee pain from OA for up to 26 weeks.</p> </sec> <sec id="jaan12103-sec-0040" sec-type="section"> <title>Implications for practice</title> <p>As the number of patients with OA is increasing, NPs need to be prepared to prescribe various treatment options to alleviate osteoarthritic knee pain, including viscosupplementation.</p> </sec> </abstract>