EFFECTS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS OF HYDROCORTISONE AND CORTISONE INJECTED INTRA-ARTICULARLY

Abstract

THE LOCAL action of cortisone¹ has been well demonstrated in the treatment of diseases of the eye.² Freyberg and co-workers³ injected cortisone intraarticularly in eight patients with rheumatoid arthritis and observed temporary improvement in several. Hollander and associates⁴ described the use of both cortisone and hydrocortisone locally in a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. On the basis of clinical response and the change in intra-articular temperature on the day following injection of the hormone, they concluded that hydrocortisone was effective in suppressing inflammation and that cortisone was inactive in this respect. In the present report are given the results obtained by serial intra-articular injections of cortisone and hydrocortisone in nine patients with rheumatoid arthritis and one patient with rheumatoid spondylitis with peripheral joint involvement. Seven of the patients had bilateral effusions in the knees, so that it was possible to obtain control observations between cortisone and