INTRODUCTION
Intra-articular corticosteroids have been used to treat joint diseases since the early 1950s in humans (Hollander et al., 1951). A few years later, joints were treated with corticosteroids in horses as well (Wheat, 1955). The potent anti-inflammatory characteristics of corticosteroids leading to pain relief made these treatments popular; however, additional research revealed adverse effects on joint integrity (Goodrich & Nixon, 2006; McIlwraith, 2010). Despite being a highly controversial therapy for joint disease, corticosteroids were the intra-articular (IA) treatment of choice among equine practitioners in recent surveys (Goodrich & Nixon, 2006; Zanotto & Frisbie, 2021; Velloso Alvarez et al., 2020).
Given their substantial popularity in the face of controversy, this systematic review identified and appraised the evidence regarding corticosteroids as an IA therapy for horses. The authors intend to answer the following questions: 1) “What is the available evidence regarding the symptom-modifying and disease-modifying effects of a single IA injection of corticosteroid for treating osteoarthritis (OA)?”; and 2) “What is the current evidence suggesting that corticosteroids are detrimental to joint health?”.