JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
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Outcomes of Corticosteroid Treatment for Trigger Finger by Stage.

BACKGROUND: Although steroid injection remains a common first-line treatment of trigger finger, clinical experience suggests that not all cases of trigger finger respond the same. The purpose of this study was to use a classification system for trigger finger that is simple and reproducible, and produces clearly definable, clinically relevant cutoff points to determine whether responsiveness to steroid injection correlates to clinical staging.

METHODS: The authors conducted a prospectively collected longitudinal study of trigger finger patients separated into four stages of severity. Each subject received a single injection of 6 mg of dexamethasone acetate. One-month outcomes were analyzed to evaluate the efficacy of steroid injection. These outcomes were further stratified based on baseline characteristics and stage of triggering.

RESULTS: A total of 99 digits and 69 subjects were included. Two variables were found to be significant in predicting response to initial injection: (1) multiple affected digits and (2) stage severity. Patients with multiple involved fingers were 5.8 times more likely to have no resolution of symptoms compared with those with a single affected finger. For every level of stage increase, the odds doubled for having no resolution of symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Steroid injection remains a viable first-line option for patients presenting with mild triggering (stage 1 and 2). For more severe triggering (stage 3 and 4) or multiple affected digits, the success of steroid injection is significantly lower at 1 month. For the latter patients, surgery may be a more reasonable initial treatment.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Risk, II.

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