Intra-articular corticosteroid treatment of inflammatory joint diseases

On January 27, 1951, a study group led by Joseph Lee Hollander injected three rheumatoid arthritis patients with the first intra-articular hydrocortisone injections. These three patients showed clinical improvements in local inflammation. This group went on to inject 1,500 test patients with nearly 24,000 injections into the joints, bursae, and tendon sheaths. Fifty percent of these patients experienced clinically significant improvement of local inflammation [1]. Over the last 65 years, corticosteroid injections have become a valuable and efficacious treatment option in the management of inflammatory arthritis with an excellent safety record [2].