Session Information
Session Title: Research Spotlight: Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Malia G. Cali, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: To prospectively assess the short-term effects of intraarticular corticosteroid injections, using standard dosing of triamcinolone, on serum T, LH and FSH levels along with changes in Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) scores.
Design: Prospective PilotSetting : Outpatient Musculoskeletal ClinicParticipants : Thirty Male veterans, median age 50 (range 30-69) referred for ultrasound-guided glenohumeral joint injection. Participants with corticosteroid injection, chronic use of oral, inhaled, or topical steroids within the past 3 months, ongoing use of exogenous testosterone, cervical radiculopathy, plexopathy, and diabetes with A1C>9 were excluded.
Interventions: Single ultrasound-guided glenohumeral joint injection using 3 mL of 1% lidocaine HCl and 1 mL of 40 mg triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog®)
Main Outcome Measures: Serum T, FSH, and LH levels, Modified quantitative Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (qADAM), and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) questionnaires prior to intervention, at 1 and 4 weeks post-procedure.
Results: There was a significant -56.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): -91.8, -21.7; p=0.002) reduction in serum T levels at 1 week post-injection with recovery 63.9 (95% CI: 26.5, 101.2; p=0.001) to near baseline levels at 4 week post-injection. SPADI scores showed significant -18.3 (95% CI: -24.4, -12.1) and -14.5 (95% CI: -21.1, -7.92) reductions at 1 and 4 week post-injection, respectively.Conclusions: While corticosteroid injections to the glenohumeral joint are found to be efficacious in alleviating pain and disability, this study demonstrates that a single injection can temporarily suppress the male gonadal axis. Future studies are needed to evaluate for long-term effects of frequent and high doses of corticosteroid injections on male reproductive function.
Level of Evidence: Level II
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Cali MG, Sohi MT, Forster J, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Brenner L. Short Term Effects of Intraarticular Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection on Serum Testosterone, Lutinizing Hormone, and Follicle Stimulating Hormone Levels in Male Veterans: A Prospective Pilot Study [abstract]. PM R. 2021; 13(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/short-term-effects-of-intraarticular-triamcinolone-acetonide-injection-on-serum-testosterone-lutinizing-hormone-and-follicle-stimulating-hormone-levels-in-male-veterans-a-prospective-pilot-study/. Accessed May 20, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/short-term-effects-of-intraarticular-triamcinolone-acetonide-injection-on-serum-testosterone-lutinizing-hormone-and-follicle-stimulating-hormone-levels-in-male-veterans-a-prospective-pilot-study/