Factors influencing physician recommendation for intra‐articular therapies in osteoarthritis: A qualitative study

Patient and physician perspectives guiding intra-articular treatment choice in knee osteoarthritis: stakeholders are aligned on treatment priorities but have different assessments of treatment effect

OBJECTIVES

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of health-related disability. In the absence of curative non-operative therapies, treatment goals are limited to symptom relief. Data are limited on how patients and physicians prioritise available treatment options. We assessed patients' preferences for and physicians' attitudes towards intra-articular treatments including corticosteroids (IACS), an extended-release corticosteroid (TA-ER) and hyaluronic acids (IAHA).

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, IRB-exempt, double-blind survey of patients with and providers who treat knee OA. Respondents were required to have received or prescribed TA-ER in a non-trial setting. We evaluated patients' OA history, impact of knee OA and treatment preferences, and physicians' decision-making and prescribing experiences.

RESULTS

Of the 97 patient participants, mean age was 56 years, 70.0% were women, 75.0% had bilateral knee OA and 46.4% were diagnosed over 5 years ago. Of the 50 physician participants, 42.0% were orthopaedic surgeons, 34.0% were rheumatologists and 60.0%, on average, treat 50+ patients with knee OA per month. Treatment selection factors considered 'very important' to patients and physicians included disease severity (88.7%, 82.0%), impact on quality of life (88.7%, 72.0%), disease extent (84.5%, 54.0%) and activity level (80.4%, 64.0%). A majority (93.8%) of patients indicated moderate to severe difficulty with their knees. Fewer patients (76.3%) reported shared decision making compared with physicians (92.0%). Half (50.5%) of the patients reported that they experienced months of pain relief with TA-ER, 27.7% with IACS and 18.8% with IAHA. Physician assessments were consistent but estimated a greater duration of treatment effects than that reported by patients across all therapies.

CONCLUSION

While knee OA has a tremendous impact on patients, there are significant unmet treatment needs. The increasing use of patient-reported outcomes will allow patients and physicians to track pain and functional status over time and across therapies, improving shared decision-making.