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Intra-articular steroid injections often are administered to patients with chronically painful osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip despite other measures such as exercise, education, weight loss, and analgesics. But clinical evidence to support this practice is lacking. Investigators randomized 199 patients (mean age, 63) with moderate-to-severe chronic pain from hip OA to receive best current treatment (consisting of advice and education) either alone or with a single ultrasound-guided, intra-articular injection of either lidocaine alone or lidocaine plus triamcinolone acetonide (40 mg). No placebo injections were used; patients who received injections and assessors were blinded to the type of injection.
At baseline, mean patient-rated pain was …