Commentary on systematic review of PRP injections for chronic lateral epicondylar tendinopathy

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundChronic lateral epicondylar tendinopathy is frequent in athletes, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is being used increasingly in its treatment.ObjectiveTo systematically review the literature on the efficacy of PRP injections for chronic lateral epicondylar tendinopathy.MethodsThe databases of PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Medline OvidSP, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched in October 2013. Inclusion criteria were a clinical diagnosis of chronic lateral epicondylar tendinopathy, a randomized-controlled trial, an intervention with a PRP injection, and the outcome measures described in terms of pain and/or function. One author screened the search results and two authors independently assessed the study quality using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) score. A study was considered to be of high quality if its PEDro score was ≥6. A best evidence synthesis was used to identify the level of evidence.ResultsSix studies were included, of which four were co...