[Platelet-rich plasma vs corticosteroid for treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy:a Meta-analysis]

To explore clinical effects regrarding functional recovery, pain relief, and range of motion of shoulder of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection and corticosteroid(CS) injection in treating rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Randomized controlled trials (RCT) of PRP injection and CS injection in Cochrane Library, EMBASE(Excerpta Medica Database), PebMed, China knowledge Network(CNKI) and Wanfang database were searched from building database to April 20, 2022. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, literature screening, data extraction and quality evaluation were carried out between two independent researchers, and extracted data were statistically analyzed by Review Manager 5.4.1 software. Short-term (3-6 weeks), medium-term (8-12 weeks) and long-term (≥24 weeks) visual analogue score (VAS), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Xi'an Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) and shoulder range of motion (ROM) were compared between two groups.

Totally 7 RCT were included with 379 patients, 188 patients in PRP group and 191 patients in CS group. Meta analysis results showed there were no significant difference in VAS, ASES and WORC between short-term group and medium-term group(P>0.05). During long-term follow-up, there were significant differences in ASES score[MD=7.1, 95%CI(2.06, 12.14), P=0.006] and VAS [MD=-1.55, 95%CI(-2.65, 0.55), P=0.002]. There was no significant difference in shoulder ROM between two groups(P>0.05).

For patients with shoulder cuff tendon disease, there are no significant difference in pain relief and functional recovery during short and medium-term follow-up period. However, RPR injection showed advantages over corticosteroid injection in terms of functional recovery and pain relief during long-term follow-up. There is no significant difference in shoulder range of motion between two groups during the whole follow-up period.