Platelet-rich plasma versus corticosteroid injections for carpal tunnel syndrome: Clinical and electrophysiological study

• Main Authors: Esam T. Atwa, Asmaa M. Esh, Ibrahim T. Abd El Al, Yasmin M. Awad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-07-01
• Series: Egyptian Rheumatologist
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110116418301017

Aim of the work: To evaluate the effectiveness of platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in comparison to corticosteroids clinically and electrophysiologically. Patients and methods: The study included 36 patients with idiopathic mild to moderate CTS divided into two groups: group I received PRP and group II received corticosteroid injections into the carpal tunnel. Nerve conduction studies were carried out, visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) were administered to patients of both groups immediately before treatment, one and three months after treatment. Results: The mean age (36.6 ± 8.8 years vs 38.5 ± 8 years), disease durations (19 ± 11 months vs 14 ± 9 months) and genders were comparable. PRP injection was significantly better than corticosteroids injection as regard VAS, symptom severity scale (SSS), functional status scale (FSS) of BCTQ as well as the distal sensory latency after one and three months of injection. There was no significant difference between both groups in other assessed parameters including distal motor latency, amplitude of compound muscle action potential, motor and sensory conduction velocities of the median nerve. There was a significant correlation between VAS and distal sensory and motor latency of the median nerve in both groups before, 1 and 3 months after injection. Conclusions: Single local injection of the PRP proved to be an effective treatment choice for CTS. PRP therapy seemed to be superior to steroid, showing more improvement clinically as regard the pain and function and electrophysiologically as regard the distal sensory latency throughout the follow-up period. Keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome, Platelet-rich plasma, Corticosteroids, Nerve conduction studies