Joint Lavage 187studies investigating joint lavage for human
knee osteoarthritis suggests that at 3 months,
joint lavage alone does not provide significant
improvement in pain and function (Arouacet al.
2010). Since 2007, arthroscopic lavage in human
knee osteoarthritis patients has been a proce-
dure in decline (Lazicet al. 2014).
In conclusion, when designing clinical tri-
als using arthroscopy for the treatment of
dogs with stifle arthritis and cruciate liga-
ment rupture, the possibility that a significant
treatment effect from arthroscopic lavage may
exist should be considered in the experimen-
tal design of the trial study, although any treat-
ment effect may be small based on human knee
osteoarthritis studies. Further work is needed to
more comprehensively understand the mecha-
nistic effects of joint lavage on arthritic canine
joints, particularly as any treatment effect
from joint lavage appears much more durable,
when compared to intra-articular corticosteroid
treatment.
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