Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center: Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Chicago, I.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rutgers School of Medicine, NJ Medical School, Newark, NJ, and Partner, New Jersey Regenerative Institute, Cedar Knolls, NJ.
Pain Physician. 2021 Jan;24(S1):S233-S246.
Corticosteroids have been used for the past 70 years in the treatment of various musculoskeletal conditions. This includes its use for joint pain such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
A narrative review of the literature from its initial discovery to the present day to summarize the research of corticosteroids for joint pain to determine the safety and effectiveness of this commonly used and prescribed medication.
A review of the literature was performed regarding the effectiveness and side effects of corticosteroids for joint and osteoarthritis conditions.
The current evidence would suggest that the use of corticosteroids provides moderate short-term benefit for reducing pain and improving functioning. These benefits generally last several weeks without long-term effectiveness. In addition to its limited short-term effectiveness, there are multiple potential adverse effects including toxicity to articular cartilage and numerous systemic side effects such as increases in blood glucose levels, a reduction in immune function, and an increased risk of infections.
English only articles were reviewed. No attempt was made to perform a formal statistical or meta-analysis.
The current evidence would suggest that the use of corticosteroids provides moderate evidence for short-term pain reduction and improvement in function. There are multiple potential adverse effects, such as toxic damage to articular cartilage, as well as numerous systemic side effects, including a reduction in immune function and an increased risk of infection, of which physicians need to be aware.
皮质类固醇在过去 70 年中被用于治疗各种肌肉骨骼疾病。这包括其在关节疼痛（如类风湿关节炎和骨关节炎）中的应用。
对皮质类固醇治疗关节疼痛的文献进行综述，从最初的发现到现在，以总结皮质类固醇治疗关节疼痛的研究，以确定这种常用和处方药物的安全性和有效性。
对皮质类固醇治疗关节和骨关节炎疾病的有效性和副作用的文献进行了回顾。
目前的证据表明，皮质类固醇的使用在减轻疼痛和改善功能方面提供了短期的中度益处。这些益处通常持续数周，没有长期效果。除了其短期效果有限外，还存在多种潜在的不良反应，包括对关节软骨的毒性和许多全身性副作用，如血糖水平升高、免疫功能下降和感染风险增加。
仅对英文文章进行了综述。没有尝试进行正式的统计或荟萃分析。
目前的证据表明，皮质类固醇的使用为短期减轻疼痛和改善功能提供了中等证据。存在多种潜在的不良反应，如对关节软骨的毒性损害，以及许多全身性副作用，包括免疫功能下降和感染风险增加，医生需要对此有所了解。
