Underuse of Intra-articular and Periarticular Corticosteroid Injections by Primary Care Physicians

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders account for 11% to 13% of office visits in ambulatory care clinics and 9% of all physician visits in the United States. Intra-articular or periarticular aspiration or injections are an integral part of the management of arthritis or periarthritis. Our aim was to determine the use and level of comfort of administering intra-articular and periarticular injections by primary care physicians (PCPs) practicing in a university setting.A self-administered questionnaire with 20 questions querying experience and training in local injection therapy was mailed to 82 physicians (junior residents, senior residents, and faculty) offering primary care at the University of Chicago. Comfort scores were measured with a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = minimum and 10 = maximum). The response rate to the questionnaire was 67% (36 residents and 19 faculty). Seventy-one percent of PCPs routinely suggested the procedure for severe arthritis and bursitis, but only 19% had (self-administered) performed it themselves. Eighty-nine percent of the PCPs referred their patients to specialty clinics. Forty-eight percent referred their patients to rheumatology, 11.5% to orthopedics, and 29% to both. Other PCPs were consulted for the procedure by 9.6%. Discomfort with the performance of the technique was the predominant reason for 83% of the referrals. The mean comfort score for intra-articular or periarticular injections was 3.10 +/- 2.14 in general and 4.45 +/- 2.92 for knee joint. The mean comfort score for other joints and bursae ranged from 1.20 to 2.15. Ninety-five percent of PCPs regarded themselves to be inadequately trained. Regarding the training, 41% had received a lecture during medical school and residency, while 40% had received demonstration of the techniques during residency. Of the faculty, 26% had never received any formal lecture, and 5.2% had never received formal demonstration of the techniques during their training. Joint injections observed ranged from 89% for knee to 59% for shoulder and 22% for wrist joints. Only 11% of faculty had performed more than 5 intra-articular injections during their training. A need for formal training in these techniques was identified by 95% of the subjects, of whom 65% thought the residency period was the best time to do so. Performing 5 to 10 intra-articular injections during residency was considered optimal training by 60%. On subanalysis, the mean comfort scores were higher in the residents in general (3.60 +/- 2.29 versus 2.18 +/- 1.47;P = 0.01) as compared with faculty. The residents' scores were also higher across different joints as compared with those of faculty but assumed statistical significance only for olecranon bursa injection (2.32 +/- 2.76 versus 1.27 +/- 0.67;P = 0.04) and subacromial bursa injection (2.08 +/- 2.27 versus 1.27+/- 0.75;P = 0.06). The mean comfort scores were lower by 1.74 (P = 0.007) for women physicians. There is underuse of self-administered intra-articular and periarticular injection techniques by PCPs in the management of arthritis or periarthritis. The reasons include inadequate training and low comfort in performing these procedures. Eighty-nine percent of PCPs would refer their patients to subspecialty clinics for these "routine" injections. There is a clear need for a training in these procedures during residency.