The Effectiveness of Oral Corticosteroids in Improving Trigger Finger in Diabetic Patients

Background and purpose: Evidence suggest high prevalence of trigger finger (TF) in diabetic patients. Corticosteroid injection in the area of tendon sheath thickening is the first-line treatment of choice for TF. However, some studies indicated low efficacy of this method in diabetic patients. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of oral corticosteroids in diabetic patients with TF. In a clinical trial, 50 diabetic patients with trigger finger (n=106 digits) enrolled. The patients were treated with oral prednisolone 5 mg, three times a day for 2 weeks. They were then followed up based on Quinnell grading at 3 and 6 weeks, and 3 months. Data analysis was done in SPSS V17 applying Repeated measures ANOVA. At the end of the three-month follow-up, 84 fingers (79.3%) of patients who took oral prednisolone improved. The reduction of Quinnell grading was significant after medication (p<0.001). Positive correlation was observed between symptoms duration and disease severity at third month (r=0.37, p<0.0001). In addition, there were positive correlations between the number of fingers affected and diabetes mellitus duration (r=0.425, p=0.002), HbA1C (r=0.319, p=0.024), and 2HPP (r=0.29, p=0.041). Current study showed no local side effects of corticosteroids in patients receiving oral prednisolone. Therefore, it could be suggested as an influential treatment for trigger finger in diabetic patients, especially those with less than 6 months onset of symptoms, normal blood glucose control, less severity of the symptoms, and higher number of involved fingers.