Non-technical factors for recurrence of sacroiliac joint pain after intra-articular steroid injection: a cohort study

Background & Objective: The effectiveness of intra-articular corticosteroid injection therapy is still debatable, despite numerous studies which demonstrated the benefits of steroid injections. Injection failure can be caused by a variety of technical factors, some of which have been identified in studies, including the accuracy with the injection location is performed and the pattern of corticosteroid distribution. We investigated the non-technical factors that influence the effectiveness of intra-articular corticosteroid injection at the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) in the past. Methodology: It was a prospective cohort study to determine non-technical factors associated with recurrence in patients with SIJ pain who had received multidisciplinary treatment for their ailment. A total of 55 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study who were followed up. Patients who had SIJ injections before 9 months and, who had no improvement on the pain scale, or there was a worsening of the pain, or the patient returned with SIJ pain complaints on the same side, were included in the trial. The results were analyzed using logistic regression to determine the likelihood of recurrence. Results: A total of 55 participants was enrolled in the study, with a higher proportion of females (n = 33; 60 %) than males (n = 22; 40 %). Thirty-one patients were returning patients (56.36 %) out of 55 patients. According to the results of the bivariate analysis, age was associated with recurrent SIJ pain. According to the results of the T-test, the mean age of the recurrent patients was 49.32 +/- 16.68 y, whereas the mean age of the non-recurrent patients was 56.7 +/- 12.76 y. The results of the multivariate analysis revealed that age, NSAID consumption, and unilateral SIJ pain, all had protective values in the context of recurrence of the sacroiliac joint pain. Conclusions: The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the involvement of a single SI joint are protective factors against the recurrence of SI joint pain.