Carpometacarpal (CMC) Osteoarthritis Clinical Trial
Official title:
Randomized Placebo Controlled Study of Triamcinolone Acetonide Extended Release Injection for Thumb (CMC) Osteoarthritis
The goal of this study is to investigate if a timed release steroid injection may be beneficial in treating carpometacarpal (CMC) joint (thumb) osteoarthritis. The main questions to be answered are: 1. does the steroid injection substantially reduce pain in the thumb 2. does the steroid injection help to increase thumb function Participants will be asked to undergo a thumb CMC joint injection and to attend follow up visits to assess pain and thumb function.
Current Orthopaedic practice for CMC osteoarthritis involves prescribing thumb braces, oral non steroidal anti inflammatory medications (NSAID's) and/or corticosteroid injection(s) which may provide minimal relief, until symptoms become unbearable, leading to difficult and often complex surgical intervention and extended and painful post operative recovery times. Addition of a safe and effective and longer lasting conservative intervention may decrease pain and increase function in patients affected by CMC osteoarthritis. Triamcinolone acetonide extended-release (TA-ER) suspension is novel and composed of polylactic-co-glycolic acid microspheres which allows for timed release of the steroid over the course of 12 weeks. It is FDA approved as Zilretta for injection and treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. We hypothesize that in a randomized, placebo controlled, double blind study that patients having TA-ER injection to the CMC joint will exhibit decreased pain levels and increased thumb function based on grip, tip and pinch strengths compared to placebo patients. One group of patients will receive CMC joint TA-ER injection and the other saline CMC joint injection. All will be followed for 12 weeks and one longer term follow up visit at 180 days. Triamcinolone acetonide extended-release (steroid) injection for carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis may provide improved pain relief and thumb function as a conservative treatment for osteoarthritis of the base of the thumb. ;