Subacromial Corticosteroid Injection for Poststroke Shoulder Pain: A Retrospective Chart Review

Abstract Chae J, Wolf-Johnson T, Govil H. Subacromial corticosteroid injection for poststroke shoulder pain: a retrospective chart review. Objective To assess the effectiveness of subacromial corticosteroid injections for the treatment of poststroke shoulder pain. Design Retrospective chart review. Setting Ambulatory setting, university-affiliated hospital. Participants People (N=60) with stroke-associated hemiparesis and pain in the involved shoulder. Interventions Electronic medical records of stroke survivors with shoulder pain in the hemiparetic limb treated with a subacromial corticosteroid injection by a practitioner between January 1, 2005, and June 30, 2007, were reviewed. Patients who had a documented preinjection pain score on the day of injection by using a 0 to 10 numeric rating scale and a postinjection pain score within 16 weeks of injection were included. Main Outcome Measures Pre- and postinjection scores were compared by using the paired t test. Treatment success was defined as a minimum of 2-point absolute or 30% relative pain reduction. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to identify predictors of pain reduction and treatment success, respectively. Results Patients experienced an absolute pain reduction of 2.6±3.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.7–3.6; P