Genicular artery embolization for treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Bedros Taslakian; Larry E Miller; Tarub S Mabud; William Macaulay; Jonathan Samuels; Mukundan Attur; Erin F Alaia; Richard Kijowski; Ryan Hickey; Akhilesh K Sista

doi:10.1016/j.ocarto.2023.100342

Genicular artery embolization for treatment of knee osteoarthritis pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Osteoarthr Cartil Open. 2023 Feb 6;5(2):100342. doi: 10.1016/j.ocarto.2023.100342. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States.
² Miller Scientific, Johnson City, TN, United States.
³ Division of Adult Reconstruction, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States.
⁴ Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States.
⁵ Division of Musculoskeletal Radiology, Department of Radiology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States.
⁶ Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States.

Abstract

Objective: Genicular artery embolization (GAE) is a novel, minimally invasive procedure for treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA). This meta-analysis investigated the safety and effectiveness of this procedure.

Design: Outcomes of this systematic review with meta-analysis were technical success, knee pain visual analog scale (VAS; 0-100 scale), WOMAC Total Score (0-100 scale), retreatment rate, and adverse events. Continuous outcomes were calculated as the weighted mean difference (WMD) versus baseline. Minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and substantial clinical benefit (SCB) rates were estimated in Monte Carlo simulations. Rates of total knee replacement and repeat GAE were calculated using life-table methods.

Results: In 10 groups (9 studies; 270 patients; 339 knees), GAE technical success was 99.7%. Over 12 months, the WMD ranged from -34 to -39 at each follow-up for VAS score and -28 to -34 for WOMAC Total score (all p < 0.001). At 12 months, 78% met the MCID for VAS score; 92% met the MCID for WOMAC Total score, and 78% met the SCB for WOMAC Total score. Higher baseline knee pain severity was associated with greater improvements in knee pain. Over 2 years, 5.2% of patients underwent total knee replacement and 8.3% received repeat GAE. Adverse events were minor, with transient skin discoloration as the most common (11.6%).

Conclusions: Limited evidence suggests that GAE is a safe procedure that confers improvement in knee OA symptoms at established MCID thresholds. Patients with greater knee pain severity may be more responsive to GAE.

Keywords: GAE; Genicular artery embolization; Knee; Osteoarthritis; Pain.

Publication types

Review