Trigger finger is one the most common pain disorders, with an estimated lifetime risk of 2.6% in the general population. Prior studies have shown the success of corticosteroid injections to be in the range of 61% to 84% with one to three injections. This study investigated the long-term effectiveness of a single corticosteroid injection for trigger finger.

This retrospective case series involved successive patients treated for trigger finger from January of 2000 to December of 2007. The records were examined for primary outcome of treatment failure, defined as a subsequent injection or surgical release of the affected digit. Success was identified as an absence of symptoms at subsequent follow-up visits, or by telephone interview.

Of the 366 patients, 44% had multiple trigger fingers, and 24% were diabetic at the time of the injection. Of those, 54.6% had repeat injection or surgical release, and 45.4% had no further intervention. Treatment success occurred in 49.2% of females and 38.1% of males (P<0.05). Of those with treatment failure, 64% required repeat injection and 33% underwent surgical release. Of those with single digit trigger fingers, 50.7% had treatment success, as compared with 30.5% of those with multiple trigger fingers (P<0.05).

This retrospective study of patients undergoing a single corticosteroid injection for trigger finger found that 45% experienced long-term treatment success.