[Short-term results of treatment of tennis elbow with anti-inflammatory drugs alone or in combination with local injection of a corticosteroid and anesthetic mixture].
OBJECTIVE
We compared the short-term results of anti-inflammatory drugs alone or in combination with local injection of a corticosteroid and anesthetic mixture in the treatment of tennis elbow.


METHODS
The study included 21 patients (12 males, 9 females; mean age 45 years; range 19 to 72 years) with tennis elbow. The patients were randomized to oral and topical anti-inflammatory drugs alone (group 1, n=10) or combined with a single local injection of a corticosteroid and anesthetic mixture (group 2, n=11). The patients were evaluated with a pain score (0 to 10 points) and clinical examination before and one month after treatment.


RESULTS
Complete or near-complete relief of pain and unlimited function were obtained in four patients (40%) in group 1, and in 10 patients (90.9%) in group 2. On physical examination, two patients (20%) in group 1 and eight patients (72.7%) in group 2 were pain-free upon pressure on the lateral epicondyle or dorsiflexion of the wrist. Pain scores differed significantly in both groups after treatment (p=0.026 and p=0.003, respectively); however, combination treatment was associated with a significantly higher efficacy (p=0.036).


CONCLUSIONS
It was concluded that significantly enhanced efficacy of the combination treatment used in this study might be limited to the short-term and that adverse effects of steroids on the tendons should be taken into consideration.
Toker
Serdar
S
Dumlupinar Universitesi Tip Fakültesi, Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Anabilim Dali, Kütahya. tokerserdar@hotmail.com
Kilinçoğlu
Volkan
V
Aksakalli
Elif
E
Gülcan
Erim
E
Ozkan
Korhan
K
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D008775:Methylprednisolone