Complications of Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections for Lateral Epicondylitis Occur at Comparable Rates to Those of Corticosteroid and Saline Injections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

This study has been identified as potentially high impact. OE's AI-driven High Impact metric estimates the influence a paper is likely to have by integrating signals from both the journal in which it is published and the scientific content of the article itself. Developed using state-of-the-art natural language processing, the OE High Impact model more accurately predicts a study's future citation performance than journal impact factor alone. This enables earlier recognition of clinically meaningful research and helps readers focus on articles most likely to shape future practice.

Study Summary

10 randomized controlled trials including 615 patients with lateral epicondylitis were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis comparing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with corticosteroid, saline, hyaluronic acid (HA), or autologous whole-blood injections. Pooled outcomes included overall complications, injection-site pain, reduced range of motion, local reactions, serious adverse events, and complication rates according to PRP leukocyte concentration. PRP had complication rates comparable to corticosteroid and saline in the comparator-specific meta-analyses, and no serious adverse events, infections, or hospitalizations were reported. However, pooled categorical analysis found more overall complications with PRP, primarily because injection-site pain was more frequent. Overall, PRP appears generally safe for lateral epicondylitis, although patients should be counselled about an increased likelihood of temporary post-injection pain.