Risk analysis of musculoskeletal pain intervention using corticosteroid during COVID-19 pandemic:a cohort study
- Author:
Azwan Aziz MOHAMAD
1
;
Nahar Azmi MOHAMED
Author Information
- Publication Type:Clinical Research Article
- From:The Korean Journal of Pain 2023;36(1):106-112
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background:Most international bodies recommended against musculoskeletal steroid injection during the COVID-19 pandemic, fearing that the immunosuppressive effects of the steroid could worsen COVID-19 infection, thus prolonging the suffering of patients with severe musculoskeletal disease. The authors’ aim is to analyze the risk of COVID-19 infection after musculoskeletal injections.
Methods:This is a retrospective study of patients who visited a sports medicine clinic and received musculoskeletal steroid injections between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. The collected data was compared with the national COVID-19 registry to identify positive COVID-19 patients. The patients were only considered positive for COVID-19 following corticosteroid injection within 3 months after injection.
Results:Out of 502 steroid injections; 79.7% (n = 400) received a single injection in one day, 19.1% (n = 96) received steroid injections at 2 sites in one day, and 1.2% (n = 6) received steroid injections at 3 sites in one day. Using the Fisherʼs exact test, there was no statistically significant association of COVID-19 infection between the steroid group and control group (relative risk, 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.9–23.1, P = 0.654). Only one patient contracted mild COVID-19 with no post COVID complications.
Conclusions:The authors recommend the use of musculoskeletal steroid injections in clinically indicated situation without having increased risk of COVID-19.
