Summary:
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Arthroscopic knee washout, with or without debridement, for the treatment of osteoarthritis in August 2007.
Further recommendations have been made as part of the clinical guideline on osteoarthritis published in February 2008, as follows:
Referral for arthroscopic lavage and debridement should not be offered as part of treatment for osteoarthritis, unless the person has knee osteoarthritis with a clear history of mechanical locking (not gelling, 'giving way' or X-ray evidence of loose bodies).
Clinical and cost-effectiveness evidence was reviewed in the development of this guideline which has led to this more specific recommendation on the indication for which arthroscopic lavage and debridement is judged to be clinically and cost-effective. More information is available from www.nice.org.uk/cg59. The IP guidance on arthroscopic knee washout, with our without debridement, for the treatment of osteoarthritis remains current, and should be read in conjunction with the clinical guideline.
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