The efficacy of intra-articular corticosteroid injections for elbow arthritis: a retrospective cohort study

The goal of this study was to report the duration of pain relief and need for subsequent surgical intervention following intra-articular steroid injection of the elbow in the setting of arthritis.

The authors' institutional database was accessed to identify patients who underwent a corticosteroid injection of the elbow for arthritis. For included patients, demographic information, steroid dosage, duration of symptoms relief, complications, and progression to surgical management were recorded. A chi-squared or Fisher exact test was utilized for categorical variables while a two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) or Wilcoxon ranked sum test was utilized for continuous variables as appropriate. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.

There were 67 patients included in the study who underwent between one and 14 injections. Patients experienced some degree of pain relief 80% of the time for an average of 12.5 (range 0-64) weeks after their first injections. There was only one documented complication following steroid injection. Twenty-one (7.9%) patients ultimately underwent surgical intervention for their elbow arthritis. Younger age was associated with progression to surgical intervention (p = 0.01).

Corticosteroid injections to the elbow are an effective method of pain control in patients with elbow arthritis.

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