Follow-up questionnaires were sent to patients at one, three, six, and 12 months after the last injection. At one week, more patients in the steroid group showed complete or satisfactory partial resolution compared with the placebo group (78% vs 25%, P5.02; NNT52). The steroid group also had significantly lower mean pain severity (1.3 vs 4.3, P5.03) and greater proportion reporting symptoms were much better or better (78% vs 33%, P5.047), but no difference was noted in function. At 12 months, steroid responders showed a maintained reduction in pain severity (comparison group data not provided). No serious adverse events, such as skin infection or tendon rupture, were observed. Limitations included small study size and lack of blinding of treatment physicians.A 2002 RCT (n518) measured the efficacy of local steroid injection for de Quervain tendinopathy among women who were pregnant (n55) or lactating (n513). 3 Patients were randomized to a local injection of methylprednisolone 40 mg/mL (0.25 mL) with 0.5% bupivacaine (0.5 mL) or thumb spica splint worn during the daytime. The primary outcome was treatment success, defined as complete pain relief and a negative Finkelstein's test measured one to six days postinjection. All patients in the corticosteroid injection group (nine of nine) achieved treatment success versus none in the splinting group (0 of nine), with a NNT of 1 (95% CI, 0.8-1.2). Follow-up continued monthly and averaged 12 months. Only one patient in the injection group had a recurrence during that follow-up period. Limitations included pseudorandomization, unclear allocation concealment, lack of blinding, and lack of placebo injection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.