A Prospective Study on the Local Injection of Glucocorticoid and Gentamicin for Treating Ingrown Nails

Abstract

Background. Ingrown nails are a type of nonspecific inflammation of nail folds. Intralesional injection is a rarely reported nonsurgical therapy for ingrown nails. Objective. To observe the efficacy of treating ingrown nails with intralesional injection, and to evaluate at which stage ingrown nails are applicable for this therapy. Methods. Ingrown nails were randomly divided into treatment (n = 87) and control (n = 37) groups. The treatment group received local injections combined with basic nursing, whereas the control group was only treated with basic nursing. Patients were followed up at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the first treatment. Results. A statistically significant difference of the efficacy rates was observed between the two groups ( $P$  < 0.05). The overall satisfaction rate was 83.91% in the treatment group and 64.86% in the control group ( $P$  = 0.019). Conclusion. Intralesional injection is an effective therapy for ingrown nails, especially in the short term. This therapy is more applicable for Martinez-Nova stage I and IIA ingrown nails and can be used as a symptomatic treatment to relieve the acute inflammation of ingrown nails at stages IIB, III, and IV.