Effectiveness of autologous blood injection in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis: randomized clinical study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the short and long-term effectiveness ofautologous blood injection in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis (LE).Materials-Methods: Seventy patients diagnosed as LE were randomized as control (Group 1,n=35) and injection (Group 2, n=35) groups. In control group, epicondyle bandage and homeexercise program was applied for 4 weeks. In injection group, autologous blood was injectedinto the most tender spot around the lateral epicondyle in addition to bandage and home exerciseprogram. All patients were evaluated by a blinded investigator at baseline, 4 weeks (primaryendpoint), 3 and 6 months. The outcome measurements were algometric sensitivity, pain-freegrip strength, Patient-rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire, and response to treatmentscore. At the end of 4 weeks (primary endpoint), we also applied autologous blood injection topatients who had "moderate" or "poor" response to treatment in Group 1 (21/34 patients, definedas Group 3).Results: At primary endpoint, all above-mentioned parameters improved significantly in Group1 and Group 2. Improvements in Group 2 were more significant when percentage rate of changeswere compared between groups. Moreover, significant improvements continued at 3 and 6months in all groups (13 patients who remained in Group 1 after the primary endpoint; 32patients in Group 2 and 21 patients in Group 3). Conclusion: This study showed that, autologous blood injection is effective in patients with LEand this effectiveness has continued at 6 months. Therefore, autologous blood injection, whichhas relatively less side effects, might be included among long-term treatment options for LE

Keywords

• Lateral epicondylitis,autologous blood injection,long-term results

LATERAL EPİKONDİLİT TEDAVİSİNDE OTOLOG KAN ENJEKSİYONUNUN ETKİNLİĞİ: RANDOMİZE KLİNİK ÇALIŞMA

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma, lateral epikondilit (LE) tedavisinde otolog kan enjeksiyonunun kısa ve uzundönem etkinliğini araştırmak amacıyla yapıldı.Gereç ve yöntem: LE tanısı konan 70 hasta, kontrol (35 hasta, Grup 1) ve enjeksiyon (35 hasta,Grup 2) gruplarına randomize edildi. Her iki gruba 4 hafta süre ile lateral epikondil bandajı veev egzersiz programı, Grup 2’deki hastalara ise ek olarak lateral epikondil çevresindeki enduyarlı noktaya otolog kan enjeksiyonu (2 ml venöz kan 1 ml %2 prilokain ile karıştırılarak)uygulandı. Tüm hastalar kör bir araştırıcı tarafından başlangıçta, 4. haftada (primer sonlanımnoktası), 3 ve 6. ayda algometrik duyarlılık, ağrısız el kavrama gücü, “Hasta Bazlı LateralEpikondilit Değerlendirme Testi” ve “Tedaviye Yanıt Skoru” kullanılarak değerlendirildi. Dörthafta sonunda 1. gruptan bandaj ve ev egzersiz programına “orta” ya da “kötü” yanıt verenhastalara (21 hasta, Grup 3) devam eden tedaviye ek olarak otolog kan enjeksiyonu yapıldı. Buhastalar enjeksiyon sonrası 1, 3 ve 6. ayda yeniden değerlendirildi.Bulgular: Grup 1 ve 2’de tüm parametrelerde 4. haftada anlamlı düzelme görüldü.Parametrelerin yüzdesel değişimi açısından gruplar karşılaştırıldığında, Grup 2’de görülendüzelmeler anlamlı derecede daha fazla idi. Ek olarak tüm gruplarda (primer sonlanımnoktasından sonra Grup 1’de kalan 13 hastada, Grup 2’de bulunan 32 hastada ve Grup 3’tebulunan 21 hastada) 3 ve 6. ayda anlamlı iyileşmelerin sürdüğü gözlendi. Sonuç: Bu çalışma, otolog kan enjeksiyonunun LE’li hastalarda etkili olduğunu ve bu etkinin6. ayda da devam ettiğini göstermiştir. Bu nedenle, göreceli olarak daha az yan etkiye sahipolan otolog kan enjeksiyonu, LE için uzun süreli tedavi seçenekleri arasında yer alabilir

Keywords

• Lateral epikondilit,otolog kan enjeksiyonu,uzun dönem sonuçlar

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