Introduction: Steroid Infiltration into arthritic joints are a common means of treating pain. They are also sometimes done to differentiate pain in the hip from the low back or knee. There are recent reports which suggest that the rate of infection in hip arthroplasty after injection is higher than in previously uninjected joints.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the notes of all patients who underwent hip replacements in Wrightington Hospital under the care of the senior author from 1997 to 2004. We identified all patients who had at least one year follow up after the procedure. The infection rates in the patients who had an injection of steroid into the joint prior to hip replacement were compared to those who had no such intervention.

Results: There were 589 patients who had a hip replacement in this period. Of these, 72 had a prior injection of steroid into the joint. In the injected group, there was no incidence of infection during the period of follow up. There was one case of infection in a patient who did not have an injection prior to the arthroplasty.

Discussion: Steroid injections are a valuable adjunct in the management of patients with arthritic joints. This review clearly identifies no increased risk of infection in patients who had the injection prior to the operation.