Corticosteroids and anterior cruciate ligament repair

Abstract

A two group (N = 62) historical comparative design was used to study patients undergoing ACL repair. This retrospective study examined the effect of corti costeroids on analgesic use during hospitalization, the length of hospitalization, and the 1 st day of ambulation. Thirty-one ACL repair patients receiving a standard protocol of intravenous intraoperative and oral post operative corticosteroids (experimental group) were compared to 31 similarly aged ACL repair patients who received similar surgical repair and medical therapy but no steroids (control group). Patients with chronic dis ease or current steroid use were not included in the study. Even though the experimental group had a higher incidence of coincidental injuries of the knee (meniscal and/or collateral ligament injuries), the group used 50% less analgesics while hospitalized (x = 14.19 doses) than the control group (x = 21.29). Similarly, the experimental group had a length of stay 59% less long (x = 3.61 days versus x = 5.74 days) and ambulated 38% more quickly (x = 1.93 days versus x = 2.67 days) than the control group. No differences were noted between groups in incidence of postoperative infection or problems with wound healing after a 1 year followup.