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Evidence summaries

Glucocorticosteroid and Lidocaine Injection for Trochanteric Bursitis

Glucocorticosteroid and lidocaine injection may be an effective therapy for pain in trochanteric bursitis. Level of evidence: "C"

An open observational study 1 assessed the short and longterm effect of single local glucocorticosteroid injection for trochanteric bursitis. 75 patient diagnosed with trochanteric bursitis based on clinical criteria were injected; 20, 32, and 22 patients each received 6, 12, and 24 mg betamethasone, respectively, mixed with 4 cm3 of 1% lidocaine. A standardized baseline questionnaire was administered to assess the severity and functional limitation due to trochanteric pain, including the visual analog scale for pain. Patients were followed at Weeks 1, 6, and 26 to determine their response to treatment. At follow-up, 77.1, 68.8, 61.3% of patients reported improvement in pain at week 1, 6, and 26, respectively. Patients receiving higher doses of betamethasone were more likely to experience pain relief (p < 0.0123).

Another case series 2 evaluated 36 cases of simple trochanteric bursitis, particular in regard to corticosteroid injections. The syndrome was mostly chronic, prevalent in older females, interspersed with other diseases. Diagnostic criteria were purely clinical. One or two local corticosteroid injections gave excellent response in two-thirds, improvement in the remaining cases. One-fourth relapsed in 2 years.

References

  • Shbeeb MI, O'Duffy JD, Michet CJ Jr, O'Fallon WM, Matteson EL. Evaluation of glucocorticosteroid injection for the treatment of trochanteric bursitis. J Rheumatol 1996 Dec;23(12):2104-6. [PubMed]
  • Ege Rasmussen KJ, Fanø N. Trochanteric bursitis. Treatment by corticosteroid injection. Scand J Rheumatol 1985;14(4):417-20. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords