The influence of steroid injections on the incidence of infection following total knee arthroplasty.

AIM: To investigate whether a relationship exists between preoperative intra-articular steroid injections and postoperative wound healing in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Similar research studies on total hip arthroplasty (THA) have found higher rates of post surgical problems in hips that have been injected with steroids. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with TKA postoperative wound infection, and 352 TKA patients without postoperative wound infection were compared against corticosteroid injected and non-injected patients. Variables measured were diabetes, cigarette smoking, knee scores, number of injections, injection administrator, and preoperative injection intervals. RESULTS: No significant difference emerged in rates of infection or between smoking rates and diabetes. Number of injections, preoperative injection interval and injection administrator did not significantly influence outcome. A significant difference exists between each group's knee scores. CONCLUSIONS: Injecting knees with corticosteroids prior to TKA did not increase the incidence of postoperative wound infection.