ArticleOrthopedic research and reviews2019
Is Dextrose Prolotherapy Superior To Corticosteroid Injection In Patients With Chronic Lateral Epicondylitis?: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Article in Orthopedic research and reviews, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The evolving efficacy landscape of intra-articular injections for rotator cuff injuries over time: a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Prolotherapy as a Regenerative Treatment in the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- The effectiveness of dextrose prolotherapy in plantar fasciitis: A systemic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Ultrasound-guided injection strategies for lateral epicondylitis: a multicenter randomized comparison of corticosteroid, platelet-rich plasma, and ozone.Future science OA · 2026Article
- Recent Advances in Ultrasound-Guided Hydrodissection and Dextrose Prolotherapy for Musculoskeletal Pain: A Target-Based State-of-the-Art Narrative Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Time-Dependent Efficacy and Safety of Percutaneous Treatments for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Comparison of Dextrose Prolotherapy and Triamcinolone Intraarticular Injection on Pain and Function in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis - A Randomized Clinical Trial.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2023Article
- Local Corticosteroid Injection Versus Dry Needling in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis.Cureus · 2022Article
- Effects of splinting and three injection therapies (corticosteroid, autologous blood and prolotherapy) on pain, grip strength, and functionality in patients with lateral epicondylitis.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo compare the efficacy of dextrose prolotherapy versus steroid injection in the treatment of patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis.
methodsThirty subjects with chronic lateral epicondylitis were randomly assigned into two groups of hypertonic dextrose or methylprednisolone injection. Participants were assessed through Quick DASH and VAS scores, once before injection, and then after 1- and 3-months follow-up. Two patients were excluded due to not completing the follow-up timepoints.
resultsIn both groups VAS scores revealed significant improvement during the first month follow-up [mean difference (MD) = 1.9±3.3, versus 1.5±1.9 for the prolotherapy and steroid groups, respectively]. This declining trajectory continued at the third month visit in the prolotherapy group and MD reached 4.4±2.9, while it did not change remarkably in the steroid group (MD=1.9±3.4). In fact, comparing VAS scores between the 1st- and 3rd-month time points did not reveal a significant improvement in the steroid group (
conclusionBoth methods were proven to be effective in the short-term treatment of chronic lateral epicondylitis, but dextrose prolotherapy seems to be slightly more efficacious than steroid injection over a longer period.
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Registered trials
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