A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the treatment of trigger finger

This systematic review and network meta-analysis evaluated the comparative efficacy of various interventions for trigger finger relative to open surgery. A total of 24 randomized controlled trials involving 1,660 digits were included. In the short term, corticosteroid injection (SMD = -3.81; 95% CI: -6.09 to -1.53), hyaluronic acid injection (SMD = -3.13; 95% CI: -5.86 to -0.40), and percutaneous release combined with splint use (SMD = -3.07; 95% CI: -5.36 to -0.78) significantly reduced disease severity compared with open surgery. In the long term, corticosteroid injection (SMD = -4.49; 95% CI: -6.79 to -2.18) and hyaluronic acid injection (SMD = -4.35; 95% CI: -7.42 to -1.28) demonstrated sustained effectiveness. SUCRA rankings identified corticosteroid injection as the intervention with the highest probability of being most effective at both time points. Current evidence suggests that minimally invasive interventions, particularly corticosteroid and hyaluronic acid injections, offer superior reduction in disease severity compared to open surgery in both the short and long term.