title: Corticosteroid injections in the treatment of trigger finger: a level I and II systematic review.
abstract: Trigger finger is a tendinitis (stenosing tenosynovitis) with multiple management approaches. We conducted an evidence-based medicine systematic review of level I and II prospective randomized controlled trials to determine the effectiveness of corticosteroid injection in managing trigger finger. MEDLINE, Cochrane database, and secondary references were reviewed to locate all English-language prospective randomized controlled trials evaluating trigger finger treatment. Four studies using injectable corticosteroids were identified, based on the following inclusion criteria: all were prospective randomized controlled trials of adults with >85% follow-up. This review indicates that the incidence of trigger finger is greatest in women (75%), with an average patient age range of 52 to 62 years. Combined analysis of these four studies shows that corticosteroid injections are effective in 57% of patients.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-8828, USA.
authors.forename: Sheryl B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Fleisch
authors.forename: Kurt P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Spindler
authors.forename: Donald H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D052582:Trigger Finger Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones