Treatment of rheumatoid joint inflammation with triamcinolone hexacetonide

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Abstract
Prolonged (more than 1 year) reversal of inflammation, as judged by decreased swelling, tenderness and synovial thickening, occurred in 12 patients in whom the joints of one hand and the wrist were treated locally with triamcinolone hexacetonide. Better preservation of grip strength, structural joint integrity and range of motion on the treated side were evidence of a beneficial effect on function. Fewer new lesions developed on the treated side as observed radiographically over the period of follow‐up, which averaged 21 months. Recurrence and progression of arthritis, both clinical and radiologic, definitely occurred in some injected joints. Unwanted effects such as soft tissue atrophy and periarticular calcification were common; their true incidence and the significance of the latter remain to be determined. The doses used here are regarded as experimental and, while promising, warrant further study before adoption as a possible method of “medical synovectomy”.

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