Evaluation of sodium hyaluronate therapy in induced septic arthritis in the horse.

This research evaluates the benefits of sodium hyaluronate or SH along with antibiotic therapy and joint lavage for diminishing inflammation and degradation prompted by septic arthritis in horses.

Study Method

• The study began with establishing septic arthritis in six fully grown horses. This was achieved by inoculating their tarsocrural joints with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
• As soon as the clinical signs started to show, the horses were given trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and phenylbutazone. The administration continued up to the end of the study on Treatment Day 18.
• One day after the inoculation, all the joints were cleansed or lavaged with a sterile lactated Ringer’s solution. Following this, 10 mg of sodium hyaluronate was injected into one joint of each horse, while the joint on the opposite side was left as a control group.

Study Results

• The joints treated with sodium hyaluronate showed a substantial decrease in lameness, tarsal size, synovial fluid’s protein, and WBC concentrations.
• The synovial membrane in the SH-handled joints presented lesser cellular infiltration, reduced formation of granulation tissue, and retained a more constitutive villous structure compared to the control joints.
• The total glycosaminoglycan loss from the articular cartilage in the SH treated joints was consistently less than that in the control joints. However, the difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion

• Based on the findings, using sodium hyaluronate along with joint lavage provides more benefits compared to lavage alone in the treatment of septic arthritis.