Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34217241›Full record

Observational studyBMC musculoskeletal disorders2021

How one treats lateral epicondylitis - a survey among Brazilian orthopedists.

Rafael Fuchs Lazarini, Renato Arouca Zan, João Carlos Belloti, Ildeu Afonso de Almeida Filho, Luiz Fernando Sartori Centenaro, Fabio Teruo Matsunaga, Marcel Jun Sugawara Tamaoki

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 98% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rafael Fuchs LazariniDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Felicio Rocho Hospital, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Fuchslazarini@Yahoo.Com.Br.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4869-1405
Renato Arouca ZanDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp-EPM), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9289-7983
João Carlos BellotiDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp-EPM), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3396-479X
Ildeu Afonso de Almeida FilhoDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Felicio Rocho Hospital, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6146-9617
Luiz Fernando Sartori CentenaroDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp-EPM), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0800-4009
Fabio Teruo MatsunagaDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp-EPM), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7328-1446
Marcel Jun Sugawara TamaokiDepartment of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp-EPM), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9539-4545
Universidade Federal de São Paulo · BRHospital Felício Rocho · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLateral epicondylitis (LE), also known as tennis elbow, is the most common painful elbow condition. It affects approximately 1-3% of adults. There are various possible treatments described in the literature, but evidence to support a gold standard management protocol is lacking. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate how Brazilian orthopaedists diagnose and treat lateral epicondylitis and compare these results with the available evidence.

methodsThis is an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was prepared to obtain information from the participants with eight specific questions (2 on diagnosis and 6 on treatment). These questions were answered voluntarily by participants at 3 major congresses of orthopaedists in Brazil in 2018. The results were analysed in accordance with the overall number of responses and were evaluated among groups according to subspecialty.

resultsWe obtained a total of 501 questionnaires. Of these, 33 were excluded. The mean age was 38.67 years. The majority of respondents (91%) were male. We obtained 26.7% from specialists in hand surgery (Hand group), 36.5% from subspecialists in shoulder and elbow (Shoulder and Elbow group), and 36.8% from generalists in orthopaedics or from other subspecialties (General Orthopaedists group). For diagnosis, 24.4% did not initially request any imaging method. The most requested exam was ultrasonography (54.9%). The most prominent indication for initial treatment was physical therapy. For refractory cases, 78.3% of the respondents preferred doing a local infiltration. The most commonly used substance for local infiltrations was corticosteroids (89.6%). With respect to the surgical treatment option, 75.8% of those who recommend it prefer open techniques, and 24.2% prefer arthroscopic treatment. Of the total respondents, 12.8% did not recommend surgical treatment for LE.

conclusionAmong Brazilian orthopaedists, the Cozen test is most frequently chosen, and ultrasound is the most commonly used imaging tool. Nonsurgically, oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) plus physiotherapy is the most popular initial therapy, and corticosteroids are the most popular type of infiltration agent. Most surgeons recommended surgery after 6 months of nonsurgical treatment, and 75.8% preferred the open technique.

Indexed as

Orthopedic SurgeonsTennis ElbowAdultBrazilCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesInjectionsLateral epicondylitisSurvey and questionnairesTennis elbow

Identifiers

PMID34217241
PMCPMC8254902
OpenAlexW3128734545

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.