Abstract:Objective To investigate the efficacy of arthroscopic debridement combined with intra-articular sodium hyaluronate injection in the treatment of early- to mid-stage knee osteoarthritis.Methods A total of 92 patients with early- to mid-stage knee osteoarthritis treated in our hospital from January 2022 to January 2025 were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups using a random number table method, with 46 cases in each group. The control group received arthroscopic debridement, and the observation group received arthroscopic debridement combined with intra-articular sodium hyaluronate injection. After 4 weeks of treatment, the levels of inflammatory factors in knee joint fluid, knee circumference, effusion thickness, gait parameters, pain scores, knee function scores, and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Results After treatment, the levels of inflammatory factors, knee circumference, effusion thickness, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (all P < 0.05), while gait parameters and Lysholm knee scoring scale scores were higher than those in the control group (both P < 0.05). Compared with before treatment, all the above indicators in both groups were significantly improved (P < 0.05). In the control group, there were 3 cases of swelling, 2 cases of infection, 2 cases of hyperemia, and 1 case of rash. In the observation group, there were 2 cases of swelling, 1 case of infection, 3 cases of hyperemia, and 3 cases of rash. There was no statistically significant difference in the total incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion Combined therapy can effectively reduce the levels of inflammatory factors in knee joint fluid, improve local swelling, effusion, and gait parameters, significantly relieve pain and improve knee joint function, without increasing the risk of adverse reactions.