Triamcinolone Acetonide Is Not Harmful to Healthy and Osteoarthritic Human Knee Cartilage

The authors aimed to investigate the effects of intra-articular triamcinolone acetonide (TA) on chondrocyte viability and matrix metabolism in healthy and osteoarthritic human knee cartilage. They found that TA did not harm chondrocyte viability and only modestly reduced matrix synthesis at high concentrations, suggesting that TA poses minimal risk to cartilage integrity when used clinically for managing joint synovitis. These results support the continued use of TA in clinical practice without significant concerns for direct cartilage damage.