Loading...
Only a few controlled studies have evaluated the effect of intraarticular corticosteroid injections for hip osteoarthritis (OA). In this Canadian randomized trial, patients with hip OA whose pain was refractory to maximal doses of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or acetaminophen received either triamcinolone hexacetonide (40 mg injected under fluoroscopic guidance) or saline placebo; the anesthetic bupuvicaine was included with injections in both groups.
After enrollment of 52 patients, the study was ended early because of slow enrollment and a highly significant difference between groups in the primary outcome: At 2 months, 68% of steroid recipients and 24% of placebo recipients had at least 20% reduction in standardized pain scores. A …