Infection in primary hip arthroplasty after previous steroid infiltration

Steroid Infiltration into arthritic joints is a common means of treating pain. It is also sometimes done to differentiate pain in the hip from that in the low back or knee. We performed a retrospective review of the notes of all patients who had undergone hip replacements in Wrightington Hospital under the care of the senior author (V.R.) from 1997 to 2004. We identified all patients who had at least 1 year follow up after the procedure. The infection rates in the patients who had received an injection of steroid into the joint prior to hip replacement and in a matched cohort who had received no such intervention were compared. In the injected group there was no incidence of infection during the period of follow up. There was one case of infection in a patient who had not had an injection prior to the arthroplasty. There was also a case of superficial infection in a patient who had no steroid infiltration prior to surgery, which responded to antibiotics. Steroid injections are a valuable adjunct in the management of patients with arthritic joints. This review clearly identifies no increased risk of infection in patients who had received the injection prior to the operation.