Trial reportSkeletal radiology2013
Do blood growth factors offer additional benefit in refractory lateral epicondylitis? A prospective, randomized pilot trial of dry needling as a stand-alone procedure versus dry needling and autologous conditioned plasma.
Trial report in Skeletal radiology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Percutaneous ultrasound-guided needle tenotomy for treatment of chronic tendinopathy and fasciopathy: a meta-analysis.European radiology · 2023Pooled it
- The effectiveness of percutaneous ultrasound-guided needle tenotomy compared to alternative treatments for chronic tendinopathy: a systematic review.Skeletal radiology · 2023Pooled it
- Autologous blood and platelet-rich plasma injection therapy for lateral elbow pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Effectiveness of ultrasound guided dry needling in management of jumper's knee: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- Platelet-rich plasma versus lidocaine as tenotomy adjuvants in people with elbow epicondylopathy: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2019Trial
- A randomized study of autologous conditioned plasma and steroid injections in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis.International orthopaedics · 2015Trial
- Ultrasound-guided tenotomy of the common extensor tendon in the elbow: a cadaveric investigation.Journal of ultrasound · 2025Article
- Added value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle tenotomy over hydrodissection and physiotherapy in chronic lateral elbow tendinopathy: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Journal of ultrasonography · 2023Article
- Comparison of Clinical Outcomes of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Epicondylitis, Elbow: Simultaneous Lateral and Medial Versus Lateral Versus Medial.Orthopaedic surgery · 2023Article
- Tendon injections - upper extremity.Skeletal radiology · 2023Review
- Ultrasonography for Injecting (Around) the Lateral Epicondyle: EURO-MUSCULUS/USPRM Perspective.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Intratendinous Injection of Autologous Conditioned Serum for Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis of the Elbow: A Pilot Study.Archives of Iranian medicine · 2022Article
- Even experts cannot agree on the optimal use of platelet-rich plasma in lateral elbow tendinopathy: an international Delphi study.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2021Article
- Comparison between dry needling and focused ultrasound on the mechanical properties of the rat Achilles tendon: A pilot study.Journal of biomechanics · 2021Article
- Utility of Percutaneous Needle Tenotomy to Reduce Pain and Improve Function in Common Extensor Tendinosis of the Lateral Epicondyle.Ochsner journal · 2021Article
- Role of Mechanical Loading for Platelet-Rich Plasma-Treated Achilles Tendinopathy.Current sports medicine reports · 2020Review
- Platelet-rich plasma injections.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2020Article
- Clinical indications for image-guided interventional procedures in the musculoskeletal system: a Delphi-based consensus paper from the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology (ESSR)-Part II, elbow and wrist.European radiology · 2020Article
- Platelet Concentrates in Musculoskeletal Medicine.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Dry Needling as a Treatment Modality for Tendinopathy: a Narrative Review.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate whether autologous conditioned plasma offers any therapeutic advantage over ultrasound-guided dry needling as a stand-alone procedure in the treatment of refractory lateral epicondylitis. MATERIALS AND
methodsProspective, randomized pilot study of 28 patients (11 men, 17 women, mean age, 49.1 years) with refractory lateral epicondylitis (mean symptom duration, 19.1 months) who underwent either dry needling (n = 13) or dry needling combined with autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) injection (n = 15). Each patient received two separate injections (0 weeks and 1 month) and analysis of visual analogue pain scores (VAS) and Nirschl scores were performed pre-procedure, at 2 months and final evaluation at 6 months. Successful treatment was defined as more than a 25 % reduction in pain scores without re-intervention. Data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test and local research ethics committee approval was obtained.
resultsAt 2 months, the mean VAS improvement was 0.85 (12.3 %) in the dry needling group compared to 2.19 (27.1 %) in the ACP group (p = 0.76) and there was a 5.83-point and 20.3-point Nirschl score improvement respectively (p = 0.72). At the final follow-up of 6 months, the mean VAS improvement was 2.37 (34 %) in the dry needling group compared to 3.92 (48.5 %) in the ACP group (p = 0.74) and there was a 22.5-point and 40-point Nirschl score improvement, respectively (p = 0.82).
conclusionsThere is a trend to greater clinical improvement in the short term for patients treated with additional ACP, however no significant difference between the two treatment groups was demonstrated at each follow-up interval. A larger, multicenter, randomized controlled trial is required to corroborate the results of this pilot study.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.