Clinical Outcomes of Corticosteroid Injections in De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: A Case Series

Abstract

De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis is a common ailment involving inflammation of tendons in the wrist’s first dorsal compartment. The Finkelstein test is a clinical examination used in the identification of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. When conservative treatments like splinting and NSAIDs fail, corticosteroid injections are a minimally invasive alternative. The case series includes 18 patients from Orthopaedics OPD of Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital in the year 2023 diagnosed with De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis. All patients received Triamcinolone injections after the failure of conservative therapy. This case series highlights how triamcinolone injections provided significant and rapid symptom relief in most patients, with over 80% showing improvement. The recurrence of symptoms and adverse effects were minimal, reinforcing corticosteroid injections as an effective first-line treatment following conservative management failure. These findings support the use of corticosteroid injections as a first-line treatment after failed conservative measures, with a low risk of recurrence or complications. Further studies could help identify which patient subgroups benefit most from this treatment.