Extended-release triamcinolone provides prolonged relief for patients who failed standard corticosteroid injection for knee osteoarthritis; a pragmatic retrospective study

Abstract

ObjectiveIdentify if extended-release triamcinolone has a longer duration of action in a cohort of patients who have had limited duration of relief from prior corticosteroid injection. DesignRetrospective analysis of patients with knee osteoarthritis. SettingAcademic outpatient musculoskeletal practice. SubjectsOne hundred and fifty patients (age 67.5 ​± ​13.7, 68.2% female) with knee osteoarthritis who had subjectively insufficient relief from a standard corticosteroid injection. MethodsUltrasound-guided knee injections of extended-release triamcinolone were administered to all patients by experienced practitioners. The primary outcome measure was comparative duration of subjective relief from extended-release triamcinolone, compared to the patients’ duration from their prior standard corticosteroid injection. The secondary outcome was the duration of relief from extended-release triamcinolone. ResultsPatients reported 7.1 ​± ​8.7 additional weeks of relief from extended-release triamcinolone (t ​= ​6.50, p ​< ​0.001), with lower Kellgren-Lawrence score being the only factor associated with increased comparative duration of relief (B ​= ​−2.39, p ​= ​0.042). No factors were associated with duration of pain relief from extended-release triamcinolone. ConclusionsThis retrospective study suggests that injection of extended-release triamcinolone is associated with prolonged pain relief in patients who have had insufficient duration of pain relief from a standard corticosteroid injection. Those with lower Kellgren-Lawrence grades were more likely to have an increased comparative duration of relief.