Efficacy of ultrasound‑guided platelet rich plasma injection for the management of de Quervain's tenosynovitis

Abstract

De Quervain's tenosynovitis (DQT) is a painful stenosing tenosynovitis of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist, which may be refractory to conservative treatments. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound (US)-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection for the management of DQT. For this purpose, from January, 2020 to February, 2021, 12 patients with DQT who received the US-guided PRP injection were studied prospectively. All patients were evaluated clinically for pain intensity using the visual analog scale and sonographically prior to treatment. The patients were followed-up at 1 and 3 months after the procedure to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment. In total, 12 hands of 12 female patients with DQT were analyzed in the present study. The post-treatment clinical evaluation revealed complete recovery in 4 (33.3%) of the patients, and 6 (50%) of them had recovered and returned to their daily activities. The sonographic evaluation revealed a significant reduction in the mean retinaculum thickness from 1.84 to 1.069 mm, and mean tendon sheath effusion from 2.06 to 1.25 mm, with only 58% of the cases having tendon sheath effusion at 3 months post-treatment. On the whole, the findings of the present study demonstrate that US-guided PRP injection with needle tenotomy can be used as an alternative non-surgical therapy for patients who do not respond to conventional conservative treatments, particularly in cases with sub-compartmentalization. The use of US may play a crucial role in the treatment of DQT, as improved clinical outcomes can be obtained with US-guided injections, particularly in cases with sub-compartmentalization.