Corticosteroids and anterior cruciate ligament repair

A two group (N = 62) historical comparative design was used to study patients undergoing ACL repair. This retrospective study examined the effect of corticosteroids on analgesic use during hospitalization, the length of hospitalization, and the 1st day of ambulation. Thirty-one ACL repair patients receiving a standard protocol of intravenous intraoperative and oral postoperative corticosteroids (experimental group) were compared to 31 similarly aged ACL repair patients who received similar surgical repair and medical therapy but no steroids (control group). Patients with chronic disease or current steroid use were not included in the study. Even though the experimental group had a higher incidence of coincidental injuries of the knee (meniscal and/or collateral ligament injuries), the group used 50% less analgesics while hospitalized (means = 14.19 doses) than the control group (means = 21.29). Similarly, the experimental group had a length of stay 59% less long (means = 3.61 days versus means = 5.74 days) and ambulated 38% more quickly (means = 1.93 days versus means = 2.67 days) than the control group. No differences were noted between groups in incidence of postoperative infection or problems with wound healing after a 1 year followup.