RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Effectiveness of Corticosteroid Injection for De Quervain’s Stenosing Tenosynovitis (DQST): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Patrick Rowland 1, Nigel Phelan 1, Sean Gardiner 1, Kenneth N Linton*, 1, 2, Rose Galvin 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 9
First Page: 437
Last Page: 444
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-9-437
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001509010437
Article History:
Received Date: 31/12/2014Revision Received Date: 26/6/2015
Acceptance Date: 5/8/2015
Electronic publication date: 30/9/2015
Collection year: 2015
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
De Quervain’s stenosing tenosynovitis (DQST) treatments include corticosteroid injection around the tendon sheath; however there is some ambiguity concerning the efficacy of this treatment. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to examine the totality of evidence relating to the use of corticosteroid injection in DQST when compared to placebo or other active treatments. A systematic literature search was conducted in July 2014. Only randomized control trials (RCTs) were included. Outcome measures included impairment, activity limitation and participation restriction. Five RCTs were identified with 165 patients, 88 in the treatment group and 77 in the control group.
Patients who received corticosteroid injection (n=142) had a higher rate of resolution of symptoms [RR 2.59, 95% CI: 1.25 to 5.37, p=0.05, I2=62%]. This group reported greater pain relief as assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at first assessment [mean difference -2.51, 95% CI: -3.11 to -1.90, p=0.0003, I2=65%] and demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in function (n=78) as measured by the DASH score and Dutch AIMS-HFF score [SMD -0.83, 95% CI: -1.54 to -0.12, p=0.02, I2=48]. This review confirms that corticosteroid injection results in a statistically significant increase in resolution of symptoms, pain relief and increased function in the treatment of DQST.
