Riassunto dello studio

Sixty-four adult patients with symptomatic trigger finger were randomized to receive either betamethasone (n=32) or methylprednisolone (n=32), both mixed with lidocaine 1%. The primary outcome of interest was the incidence of flare reaction, defined as a VAS pain increase of 2 points or more from baseline. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of severe flare reaction (VAS increase of 4 points or more) and average daily pain scores measured using VAS at baseline, 5 minutes, and daily for 7 days. Overall, the results revealed that although betamethasone injections had a slightly higher incidence of flare and severe flare reactions compared to methylprednisolone, these differences were not statistically significant. Average daily pain scores peaked on day 1 for both groups and then gradually declined, with methylprednisolone showing higher pain on day 1. This suggests that while flare reactions are common, the choice of corticosteroid injection (betamethasone vs. methylprednisolone) did not significantly affect their incidence in this study.