EFFICACY OF CORTICOSTEROID VERSUS AUTOLOGOUS BLOOD INJECTION IN TREATMENT OF REFRACTORY LATERAL EPICONDYLITIS

Background: The common mode of treatment of epicondylitis / tennis elbow is local injection of steroid which provides no advantage over exercise and physiotherapy in the long term. At present, autologous blood injections have been used as alternative treatment options. The present comparative study was conducted at SKIMS MCH Bemina from May 2019 till April 2022 with the aim to compare the efciency of autologous blood and corticosteroid for the treatment of refractory lateral epicondylitis. Methodology: A total of 100 patients with refractory lateral epicondylitis were included in the study and were divided randomly into two groups (Aand B) with 50 cases in each group. Group Areceived local injection of autologous blood and group B received local steroid injection. The outcome measurements included clinical outcomes, visual analog score, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score (0–100 points) and the maximum grip strength using a digital handgrip dynamometer, cases were evaluated pre-operatively and at each follow up and nal results were noted at the nal follow-up visit. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis and p-value < 0.05 was considered signicant. Results: It was observed that majority of the subjects were males. The most of the patients were in the age group 41-50 years (72.0%) and the commonest involved side was right. Conclusion: It was concluded that autologous blood injection showed statistically signicant decreased pain than corticosteroid injection group.