Does prior local corticosteroid injection prejudice the outcome of subsequent carpal tunnel decompression?

Abstract

It has been suggested that treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome by local corticosteroid injection may prejudice the outcome of subsequent surgery. We identified patients who had proceeded directly to carpal tunnel surgery and patients who had initially been treated with one or more injections and then subsequently underwent carpal tunnel surgery on the same hand. Outcomes of surgery were evaluated using pre- and post-operative Boston carpal tunnel syndrome scales and an ordinal scale for overall satisfaction. Multivariate models were created to study the effect of pre-operation injection on the surgical outcome while controlling for demographic and clinical variables. A total of 942 patients were included; 85% of the direct group and 84% of the prior-injection group reported themselves either completely cured or much improved after surgery. Post-operative symptom severity and functional status scores showed no significant difference between the direct-to-surgery and prior-injection groups. Prior local steroid injection does not prejudice the outcome of surgery. Level of Evidence: IV