Background Intra-articular injections containing a corticosteroid are used frequently, and periprosthetic joint infection is a serious complication after total joint arthroplasty. There is debate regarding whether intraarticular corticosteroid injections before arthroplasty increase periprosthetic joint infection after surgery. Questions/purposes (1) Does a previous intra-articular corticosteroid injection increase the odds of infection after subsequent hip or knee arthroplasty? (2) Does this risk vary based on how soon before the arthroplasty (such as less than 3 months before surgery) the injection is administered?Methods Using the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases from inception to July 2021, we searched for comparative studies in English on patients who received intra-articular corticosteroid injections before arthroplasty and that tracked the frequency of infection after arthroplasty. We extracted data on the risk of infection after subsequent joint arthroplasty. The keywords included "corticosteroid," "steroid," "arthroplasty," "knee replacement," and "hip replacement." Eleven retrospective, comparative studies from four countries were included, of which 10 reported the specific diagnosis criteria and oneThe institution of one or more of the authors (QZ) has received, during the study period, funding from the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong (2015A030313353). The institution of one or more of the authors (CZ) has received, during the study period, funding from the Research Project of Innovating to Strengthen the First Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (2019IIT06). Each author certifies that there are no funding or commercial associations (consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article related to the author or any immediate family members. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request.