Oligo-articular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (Oligo JIA) is the most common subtype of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Intra-articular corticosteroid (IAC) injection is a mainstay treatment of oligo JIA providing pain relief, improving mobility and preventing further joint destruction in the majority of patients. In 2015, production of triamcinolone hexacetonide (TH) an intra-articular corticosteroid was discontinued in the United States leading to use of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) as an alternative. In this study, we compared response to treatment in children with oligo JIA who underwent therapy with intra-articular TA and TH injection.
Our study is a retrospective chart review of children with oligo JIA who were treated with IAC injections with TH between January 2012 and June 2015 and TA between J uly 2015 and December 2018. The two groups were followed at John R. Oishei Children's Hospital of Buffalo and were evaluated for response to treatment, side effects and predictors of response including duration of disease before treatment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and c-reactive protein (CRP). Response to treatment was defined as at least 6 months follow up without evidence of active arthritis in injected joints. Patients were considered to be non-responders if they continued to show active arthritis during their first follow up after joint injection. The primary objective was to evaluate whether there was a significant difference in rate of response between TH and TA.
Forty-nine patients, 38 female and 11 male with oligo JIA were included in the study. The average age was 6.7 years. A total of 111 joints were injected includin g 78 knees, 13 ankles, 9 wrists, 4 hips, 4 elbows, 2 TMJ and one subtalar joint. In the TA group, 49% (29/59) did not show response to injection compared to 27% (14/52) in the TH group. After 6 months, response rates were better for individuals injected with TH compared to TA (73% vs. 51%). In general, response to intra-articular TH was superior to TA with P = .016 using chi-square test of independence. This difference in outcome was not influenced by other variables such as duration of illness before treatment (P value 0.784) or elevated ESR and CRP. No difference in side effects between the two groups were noted.
Our results in conjunction with prior published data suggests that TH intra-articular joint injection in oligo JIA is superior to TA, although future controlled trials are necessary for confirmation. An effective, long lasting treatment can have a great impact on the outcome of these children.