Clinical outcomes of steroid injection for treatment of pediatric trigger thumbs

Abstract

Objective To analyze the clinical effectiveness of steroid injection for treatment of pediatric trigger thumbs. Methods From August 2007 to February 2009, there were 47 trigger thumbs ( 15 right thumbs, 20 left thumbs, 6 bilateral) in41 children (15 boys, 26 girls), that had been treated with steroid injection in our hospital. The steroid injection was performed once a week for a total of 2 or 3 times. The age at initial diagnosis ranged from 20 months to 5 years old, and the age at initial onset ranged from 1 week to 4 years.The severity of the trigger thumbs was classified using Sugimoto classification: there were 27 thumbs at stage Ⅱ,17 thumbs at stage Ⅲ, and 3 thumbs at stage Ⅳ. Results Two thumbs of stage Ⅱ were lost to follow-up. The rest 39 cases and 45 thumbs were followed for 12 to 18 months, with an average of 14 months. Symptom alleviation was noticed 2 weeks after the injection. The overall effective rate was 82.2%. No complication was found in injection sites. Conclusion It is a rapid and effective way to treat pediatric trigger thumbs with steroid injection. Key words: Child; Blocking therapy; Trigger thumb