The Relationship between Physical Findings and the Recurrence after Steroid Injection in De Quervain's Disease

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of steroid injection according to the stage of Finkelstein's test and the severity of tenderness on radial styloid in de Quervain's disease. METHODS: Between January 2011 and December 2012, a total of 57 patients (57 wrists) treated with steroid injection in de Quervain's disease were enrolled on this study. The severity of tenderness, the stage of Finkelstein's test and pain score using visual analogue scale (VAS) were assessed before steroid injection. And the effect of steroid injection was assessed until one year after steroid injection. The relationship between the recurrence of de Quervain's disease after steroid injection and pre-injection findings including tenderness, Finkelstein's test and VAS was assessed. RESULTS: The success rate of steroid injection was 71.9% (41/57 patients). The outcome of steroid injection was not significantly related to the severity of tenderness (p=0.648), the stage of Finkelstein's test (p=0.530) and VAS score (p=0.607). CONCLUSION: The tenderness on radial styloid and the Finkelstein's test are important physical findings for the diagnosis of de Quervain's disease. However, the severity of tenderness and the stage of Finkelstein's test were not showed as predictive factors for the outcome.