Objective:

Intra-articular corticosteroid injection (ICA), is a treatment option used in the conservative treatment of osteoarthritic joints. Although there has been a lot of work for the knee joint, number of studies evaluating the effect of ICA on hip osteoarthritis was relatively small. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of ICA on symptoms and on quality of life in patients with coxarthrosis.

Material and Methods:

31 patients diagnosed with coxarthrosis included in our study and 7 mg betamethasone injection was applied under fluoroscopy. The severity of pain was evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS-night pain, VAS-activity, VAS-rest), functional levels by Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and quality of life by the SF-36 in period of pre-injection, post-injection 24 hours, 1 week 1 months and 3 months.

Results:

Significant improvements were present in VAS-rest, VAS-night pain, VAS-activity during the first 24 hours and 1. week after injection (p<0.01) and also significant improvement was found in VAS-night pain during 1. month (p<0.05) and 3. months (p<0.05) compared to the pre-treatment measurements in all patients. There was a statistically significant improvement in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) total scores and the quality of life as assessed by the SF-36 compared to baseline during 24 hours, 1 week, 1 months and 3 months post-injection (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

In our clinic, patients who underwent intra-articular corticosteroid injection showed significant improvement during the first 3 months in terms of of clinical parameters, functional status and quality of life.

Keywords: coxarthrosis, intraarticular injections, joint pain