The long-term effectiveness of steroid injections in primary acromioclavicular joint arthritis: a five-year prospective study.

We evaluated the long-term benefits of steroid injection in 25 shoulders in 20 consecutive patients (average age, 55 years) with primary acromioclavicular arthritis. Minimum follow-up was 5 years. The mean preinjection Constant score (61 points) improved at 6 months to 81 points, (mean difference, 19.36; P < .01). Improvement at 12 months (mean, 86 points) was also significant vs the 6-month score (P = .001). The mean score at 5 years (81 points) was a significant deterioration vs the 12-month score (P = .01) but still a significant improvement vs the preinjection scores (P < .0005). Younger patients had greater improvement in the objective score (range of movement and power; r = -0.47; P = .01), as did women (r = 0.405; P = .05). Local steroid injection is an effective treatment for primary isolated acromioclavicular arthritis. Improvement continues for at least 12 months. The benefit is felt up to 5 years. Pain relief tends to diminish long-term.

3M Capital hip arthroplasty: 3-8-year follow-up of 208 primary hip replacements.

We reviewed 267 Capital hip replacements. Patients were recalled in 1998 after reports of failure of this prosthesis. 208 hips (200 patients) were followed-up (average 6 years). 9 hips (4%) had been revised for aseptic loosening and 10 stems (5%) were radiographically loose. Males and both varus and valgus stems showed a higher incidence of loosening. The failure rate, however, was considerably lower than the published figures. The reason for this is not clear, but obviously design is not the only factor contributing to loosening. Therefore, a continuous routine registration of clinical data and relevant outcome parameters on a large scale seems desirable.