Outcomes of intra-articular corticosteroid injections for adolescents with hip pain

Intra-articular injection of corticosteroid and anesthetic (CSI) is a useful diagnostic tool for hip pain secondary to labral tears or femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). However, the effectiveness of CSI as a stand-alone treatment for hip pain in adolescents is unknown. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of CSI for the treatment of hip pain and determine factors that may affect outcomes after injection. Retrospective analysis of 18 patients and 19 hips that underwent fluoroscopic guided hip injection for the treatment of pain at a single institution from 2012 to 2015 was carried out in this study. Mean age at the time of injection was 15.1 years (range 13–17) with mean follow-up of 29.4 months. Fifty-two percent (10/19 hips) went on to surgery after the injection. Average time to surgical conversion was 12.8 months after CSI. Cam or pincer morphologies were present in 90% (9/10 hips) of the operative group. Patients with FAI were more likely to need surgery than patients without bony abnormalities (RR= 10, 95% CI 1.6–64.2, P = 0.0001). There was no difference in the presence of labral tears in the operative and non-operative groups (100% versus 89%, P = 0.47). For adolescents without bony abnormalities, 90% improved with CSI alone and did not require further treatment within 2.4 years. Fluoroscopic guided corticosteroid hip injection may have limited efficacy for the treatment of hip pain secondary to FAI in adolescents. However, for patients without osseous deformity, CSI may offer prolonged improvement of symptoms even in the presence of labral tears.