Autologous blood injection for treatment of chronic recurrent TMJ dislocation: is it successful? Is it safe enough? A systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to review the English literature about the efficacy and safety of autologous blood injection in treating patients suffering from chronic recurrent temporomandibular joint dislocation. In this article, we highlight the key trials and recent directions about this modality and discuss about the mechanism, advantages, and disadvantages of this approach.


METHODS
A literature search was performed using PubMed, Medline, and Ovid Medline databases to identify articles reporting on the injection of autologous blood for treatment of chronic recurrent dislocation of temporomandibular joint. Other references cited in the retrieved reports, as well as the "related articles" tool in PubMed Medline, were also checked to improve the search and, if relevant, were included in the study. The search was restricted to articles published in the English language.


RESULTS
Seven studies meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed. The selected articles included four prospective clinical trials and three case report articles.


CONCLUSIONS
There are a few articles about the clinical use of autologous blood for treating patients with chronic recurrent temporomandibular joint dislocation. Reviewing of the literature shows that there are successful results about this modality, but there are still some concerns about it in terms of the effect of the injected blood on the articular cartilage and formation of fibrous or bony ankylosis.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran, payam.varedi@yahoo.com.
Payam
P
Varedi
Behnam
B
Bohluli
D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000628:therapy*; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000628:therapy*; D012008:Recurrence; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome