Abstract
Comparative Outcomes of Platelet Rich Plasma, Autologous Blood and Corticosteroid Injections in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis
ABSTRACT
Objectives
Lateral epicondylitis is a disorder in which the dominant extremity is usually affected, and its prevalence ranges between 1% and 3% in the general population. It appears to be more common and severe in women between ages 30 and 60. Platelet rich plasma (PRP), autologous blood and corticosteroid injections are widely applied treatment modalities with various success rates. We aimed to investigate clinical outcomes of these three injection techniques.
Study Design is Prospective randomized clinical trial.
Methods
Fifty two patients (19 men, 33 women) whom were diagnosed lateral epicondylitis between the years 2011 and 2013, with a mean age 43,7years (min 18, max 62) were randomized into three groups according to application order. Each group received one of the injection treatments: PRP, autologous blood or corticosteroid. Comparative clinical outcomes evaluated prospectively. Assessments performed by a blind evaluator by visual analog scale (VAS), presence of tenderness, QuickDASH scores, grip strength measurements in pre-injection period and in post-injection first, third and sixth months. Statistical analyses performed in SPSS 21 software by Pearson’s chi-squared, Anova, Kruskar Wallis and McNemar tests.
Results
Changes of VAS and QuickDASH scores in each group were significant according to pre-injection and post-injection first, third, sixth month evaluations (p<0,001). There were significant changes in autologous blood (p=0,016)and PRP ( p=0,008) groups in presence of tendernes among post-injection first and sixth month controls.
Conclusions
Significant improvement obtained in all three groups both in early and late post-injection periods. With respect to subjective outcomes, the most obvious improvement noticed in platelet rich plasma group especially in late period.
Key words: Autolog Blood; Corticosteroid; Epicondilylitis; PRP

Key words: Autolog Blood; Corticosteroid; Epicondilylitis; PRP