Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical effect of combined treatment of intraarticular injection of medical ozone and high tibial osteotomy (HTO) for knee osteoarthritis. Methods A total of 84 elderly patients with KOA admitted to 541 General Hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were randomly divided into group A (n=42) and group B (n=42). Group A was treated with HTO, and group B was treated with intraarthroscopic injection of medical ozone before HTO. The operation status, pain degree, knee joint function, gait index and postoperative complications were recorded and compared between the two groups. Results The scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the biphase levels in the two groups were gradually decreased after surgery (P<0.05), and especially in group B (P<0.05). The medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) was reduced in both groups after the surgery (P<0.05), especially in group A (P<0.05); The knee function score, joint range of motion (ROM), step length, step speed and step frequency were increased in both groups after surgery (P<0.05), especially in group B (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions Preoperative treatment with medical ozone intraarticular injection can further improve the gait index and knee joint function in the patients with KOA, relieve the patients’ pain, and have high safety.

Key words: medical ozone, intraarticular injection, high tibial osteotomy, knee osteoarthritis