title: The long-term follow-up of treatment with corticosteroid injections in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. When are multiple injections indicated?
abstract: The objective of this prospective study was to investigate the long-term effect of one or more local corticosteroid injections in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and whether a good response can be predicted. Follow-up visits took place at 3 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after the first corticosteroid injection. Thirty of the 120 patients (25%) had a good outcome with a single injection, 11 additional patients (9%) needed a second injection, and five patients (4%) needed a third injection to reach a good outcome after 1 year. Of patients with an initial good treatment response, 28 (52%) had a good outcome after 1 year compared with 18 (27 %) who had an initially moderate or no response to treatment. One-third of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome had a long-term beneficial effect from corticosteroid injection, especially when they had a good initial response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. m.berger@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.forename: J H T M
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Koelman
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: van Schaik
authors.forename: Y B W E M
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Roos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D008775:Methylprednisolone