Efficacy of musculoskeletal injections by primary care providers in the office: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundMusculoskeletal joint pain of varied etiology can be diagnosed and treated with joint and soft-tissue corticosteroid injections.PurposeThe purpose of our study was to compare patients’ bodily pain and quality of life (QOL), in addition to the procedural benefit and patient satisfaction, before and after musculoskeletal injections in the office setting.Patients and methodsPatients were eligible for recruitment if they were over age 18 and had an injection for musculoskeletal pain from a primary care provider in an office procedural practice. Included in our analysis were knee joint/bursa, trochanteric bursa, and shoulder joint/bursa injection sites. The variables measured were pain, benefit from the injection, QOL physical and mental components, and patient satisfaction. This was a retrospective cohort study approved by the institutional review board.ResultsPatients’ pain was assessed by the patients using a six-point Likert scale (none, very mild, mild, moderate, severe, and very severe). We noted that self-perception of pain decreased from 3.10 (± standard deviation at baseline 0.96) before to 2.36 (± standard deviation after the infection 1.21) (P = 0.0001) after the injection. In terms of the impact on QOL, our patients had a pre-injection physical score of 37.25 ± 8.39 and a mental score at 52.81 ± 8.98. After the injections, the physical score improved to 42.35 ± 9.07 (P = 0.0001) and the mental to 53.54 ± 8.20 (P = 0.0001) for the overall group. Ninety-six percent of the patients reported they were satisfied or extremely satisfied in the procedure clinic.ConclusionIn this study, we found significant pain relief and improved physical QOL in patients undergoing an injection in the knee joint/bursa, shoulder joint/bursa, or trochanteric bursa by primary care providers in the office setting.

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome

“…Corticosteroid injection therapy is often the second line treatment for patients with persistent pain not improved by conservative management. The short-term efficacy of corticosteroid injection therapy for a variety of musculoskeletal disorders is well-documented (Bhagra et al., 2013; Labrosse et al., 2010; Stephen, Beutler, & O’Connor, 2008), leading to a significant improvement in quality-of-life metrics, patient satisfaction and symptomatic relief. Moreover, the procedure can be a diagnostic aid, as an absence of symptomatic improvement may suggest alternative pathology.…”

Enhancing Musculoskeletal Injection Safety: Evaluating Checklists Generated by Artificial Intelligence and Revising the Preformed Checklist

“…They serve to definitively treat conditions, facilitate rehabilitative therapy, or provide episodic symptom relief [ 2 ]. A retrospective study of 1,188 patients showed that musculoskeletal injections significantly reduced pain, improved quality of life, and achieved high patient satisfaction, demonstrating their effectiveness in musculoskeletal problems involving knee, shoulder, and hip pain [ 3 ].…”

Efficacy of musculoskeletal injections given by primary care providers in the office

“…A retrospective cohort study conducted in patients with musculoskeletal pain treated with corticosteroid injections by primary care providers compared quality of life, procedural benefit, and patient satisfaction before and after musculoskeletal injections in the office setting 2. This paper indicated that musculoskeletal corticosteroid injections were performed by a range of providers, including orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, podiatrists, and primary care physicians (both family and internal medicine) 2.…”

“…This paper indicated that musculoskeletal corticosteroid injections were performed by a range of providers, including orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, podiatrists, and primary care physicians (both family and internal medicine) 2. The study included patients older than 18 years with bursitis of the knee, shoulder, or trochanteric sites treated by primary care practitioners in the office setting 2…”