Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 17, 2025
Author Spotlight: Ultrasound-Guided Needle Release Combined with Corticosteroid Injection for the Treatment of Supinator Syndrome
Published on: May 26, 2023
Temporal Relationship of Corticosteroid Injection and Open Release for Trigger Finger and Correlation With
Andrew J Straszewski1, Cody S Lee1, Jason L Dickherber1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Purpose:
Previous single-institution studies have shown a relationship between corticosteroid injection and infection after surgery if open trigger release occurs within 90 days. We queried an insurance claims database to evaluate the temporal relationship between a corticosteroid injection and the development of a surgical site infection requiring secondary surgery in patients undergoing trigger release.
Methods:
The PearlDiver database was queried for adults who underwent unilateral trigger finger release surgery from 2012 to 2018. The total number of injections, time from last injection to surgery, and preoperative antibiotic use were determined, in addition to the rates of postoperative administration of antibiotics and deep infection requiring surgery at 30, 60, and 90 days after surgery. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the odds of deep infection at 30, 60, and 90 days.
Results:
A total of 14,686 patients were included; at least 1 corticosteroid injection was administered to 5,173 patients prior to surgery. When grouped based on whether a corticosteroid injection was administered prior to surgery, the postoperative infection rates between the groups were similar at 30, 60, and 90 days. When surgery was performed within 1 month of injection, increased odds of deep infection requiring irrigation and debridement were seen at 60 (odds ratio 2.92 [1.01-7.52]) and 90 days (odds ratio 3.01 [1.13-7.25]). Postoperative antibiotic use in the groups with and without a preoperative injection was similar at all queried time points, but patients who underwent open trigger finger release within 1 month of a prior injection had significantly increased odds (odds ratio 5.77 [1.41-22.06]) of using antibiotics after surgery. Male sex, a higher Elixhauser comorbidity index, and rheumatoid arthritis were additional independent risk factors for a deep infection.
Conclusions:
Patients who undergo open trigger release within 1 month of a corticosteroid injection are at increased odds of developing a postoperative infection requiring surgical debridement.
Type Of Study/Level Of Evidence:
Prognostic II.
