Background

Many shoulder surgeons use intra-articular corticosteroid injections (IACI) in shoulder osteoarthritis, with the caveat that it precludes arthroplasty for at least 6 months to 12 months because of the theoretical risk of infection. To our knowledge, there is nothing available in the literature to support this notion.

Methods

We undertook a retrospective, matched cohort study of all patients who underwent shoulder arthroplasty in our unit between December 2010 and December 2013 aiming to assess whether pre-operative IACI had an impact on infective complications. Group I had received an IACI prior to their arthroplasty and Group II had not. A chi-squared analysis was performed (p < 0.05).

Results

Group I comprised 23 patients with a mean age of 73 years (range 54 years to 90 years) had 23 shoulder arthroplasties and had mean follow-up of 16.6 months. Patients received an IACI approximately 11.4 months (range 2.5 months to 172.5 months) before their surgery. One patient developed a deep joint infection that warranted revision arthroplasty. Group II comprised 60 patients with a mean age of 75 years (range 34 years to 90 years) had 64 shoulder arthoplasties and a mean follow-up of 20.1 months. No patients developed infective complications (p > 0.05), implying there was no statistically significant relationship between pre-operative IACI and infective complications.

Conclusions

We could not establish a causal link between IACI and infective complications after arthoplasty.