Transcatheter Arterial Embolization as a Treatment for Knee Pain in Patients With Mild to Moderate Osteoarthritis

Disabling symptoms of osteoarthritis are seen in approximatively 10% of people over 55 years old. Traditionally, treatment of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis is based on administration of pain relievers, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in case of mild to moderate symptoms; major joint replacement surgery (total joint arthroplasty) is performed in cases of severe and end-stage osteoarthritis.

However, many patients suffer from persistent pain symptoms from moderate osteoarthritis despite optimal medical treatment. For these patients, several minimally-invasive surgical treatments have been proposed, including arthroscopic lavage and debridement; however, none of these treatments have been proven effective compared to sham treatment.

Recently, catheter-directed embolotherapy of the geniculate arteries has been propagated as a real alternative to medical management in patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis unresponsive to conservative medical management.

Transcatheter embolotherapy was performed using imipenem/cilastin sodium or 75 micron calibrated Embozene microspheres and follow-up was performed by physical examination, questionnaires (VAS-score and WOMAC-scores) and MR-imaging (WORMS-score). Results of these trials confirmed that catheter-directed embolotherapy is a safe procedure without any major adverse events. WOMAC pain scores dropped dramatically from 12.2 +/- 1.9 before the procedure to 3.3 +/- 2.1 at 1 month after the procedure and to 1.7 +/- 2.2 at 4 months after the procedure. Additionally, MR imaging at 2 years of follow-up could not demonstrate any osteonecrosis or progression of degenerative changes.