OBJECTIVES : To assess patients’ preferences for and physicians’ attitudes toward intra-articular (IA) knee osteoarthritis (OA) therapy, including an extended-release formulation of triamcinolone acetonide (TA-ER).

METHODS : This was a multi-center study based on double-blind surveys of patients with, and physicians who treat, knee OA. Respondents were required to have received or prescribed TA-ER in a non-trial setting. This study evaluated patients’ OA history, disease burden and treatment preferences, and physicians’ decision-making.

RESULTS : 97 patients and 50 physicians completed the survey. Mean patient age was 56 years, 72% were female, 75% had bilateral knee OA, and 50% were diagnosed >5 years ago; 89% of patients reported being aware of their condition daily/constantly, and 79% modified their lifestyle moderately/significantly because of OA. 67% of the patient cohort reported receiving prior IA therapy with traditional corticosteroids (IACS) and 17% with hyaluronic-based viscosupplements (IAHA). Mean physician age was 57 years; specialties included 42% rheumatology, 34% orthopedics, 14% sports medicine and 10% physical medicine. Patients and physicians, respectively, identified the following as “very important” in treatment selection: disease severity (89%, 82%), impact on quality of life (89%, 72%), and activity level (80%, 64%). More patients reported “significant improvements” in pain relief and functional improvement, respectively, with TA-ER (43%, 43%) compared to IACS (13%, 13%) and IAHA (19%, 13%). More patients reported a longer duration of pain relief and functional improvement (months), respectively, with TA-ER (51%, 44%) versus IACS (28%, 28%) and IAHA (19%, 25%).

CONCLUSIONS : Knee OA has a tremendous impact on quality of life, and patients have significant unmet treatment needs. Patients and physicians identified similar attributes as very important in making knee OA treatment decisions. TA-ER is a useful addition to the physicians’ armamentarium with patients reporting a higher magnitude and duration of knee OA symptom relief relative to other IA injections.