Severe Acute Localized Reaction/Pseudosepsis in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis Receiving Injections of Hyaluronic Acid: A Targeted Literature Review.

Sherman, Seth Lawrence; Ngai, Wilson; Steele, Kevin; Collet, Jean-Paul; Kelly, John D A · Orthopedics · 2025

review · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis patients can result in pseudosepsis. A targeted literature review was conducted to determine the rate of pseudosepsis in patients receiving intra-articular hyaluronic acid, particularly hylan G-F 20 (SYNVISC<sup>®</sup>). Articles were identified through Embase using predefined search strategies. Pseudosepsis event rate was calculated by dividing the number of reported events by the total number of intra-articular injections. The pseudosepsis event rate ranged from 0% to 5.6% per injection; most treatment groups had an event rate of ≤2% per injection. Pseudosepsis event rates were low across studies for patients treated with hyaluronic acid, including hylan G-F 20.

Medical subject headings

Anatomy