Does Timing of Previous Intra-Articular Steroid Injection Affect the Post-Operative Rate of Infection in Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Intra-articular steroid injections are widely used for symptomatic relief of knee osteoarthritis. This study used a national database to determine if there is an association between preoperative intra-articular knee injection at various time intervals prior to ipsilateral TKA and infection. The incidence of infection within 3 months (2.6%, OR 2.0 [1.6-2.5], P < 0.0001) and 6 months (3.41%, OR 1.5 [1.2-1.8], P < 0.0001) after TKA within 3 months of knee injection was significantly higher than our control cohort. There was no significant difference in patients who underwent TKA more than 3 months after injection. Ipsilateral knee injection within three months prior to TKA is associated with a significant increase in infection.