Short-Term Effects of Intra-Articular Corticosteroid Injection on Knee Function in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Short-Term Effects of Intra-Articular Corticosteroid Injection on Knee Function in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Prospective Cohort Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the short-term clinical effects of intra-articular corticosteroid injections on knee joint functions in children and adolescents diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA).

Patients who receive a corticosteroid injection into the knee joint as part of their routine medical treatment will be monitored prospectively. The study aims to assess changes in range of motion, functional status, and pain levels before the injection and during the early follow-up period after the procedure. This will help healthcare providers better understand the immediate benefits and functional outcomes of this treatment in youth sports and daily physical activities.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) according to standard criteria (arthritis with onset before the age of 16 years and duration longer than 6 weeks with no other identifiable cause).
• Having unilateral or bilateral active knee joint arthritis.
• Undergoing knee intra-articular corticosteroid injection (IACI) for the active knee joint involvement.
• Provision of written informed consent by both patients and their caregivers.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of other chronic rheumatological diseases.
• Initiation or discontinuation of systemic steroids, conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) (e.g., methotrexate, sulfasalazine), or biologic DMARDs (e.g., inhibitors of TNF, IL-1, or IL-6) within the 3 months before knee IACI and during the follow-up period.
• History of severe adverse reactions to steroids.
• Presence of neurological diseases.
• History of lower extremity surgery.
• Missing data.