Efficacy and safety of XXXX injections for shoulder and elbow @entity924 : a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

@entity1 @entity924 @entity134 @entity158 @entity230
OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and safety of @entity134 injections for @entity1 with @entity924 of the shoulder or elbow. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature using PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library and manual searches was performed until April 2008. All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reporting the efficacy on @entity158 , and/or the safety of @entity134 injections, versus placebo, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or physiotherapy in @entity1 with @entity924 were selected. Pooled effect size (ES) was calculated by meta-analysis using the Mantel-Haenszel method. RESULTS: In all, 20 RCTs were analysed (744 @entity1 treated by injections and 987 @entity1 treated by controls; 618 shoulders and 1113 elbows). The pooled analysis indicated only short-term effectiveness of @entity230 versus the pooled controls for @entity158 and function (eg, @entity158 at week 1-3 ES = 1.18 (95% CI 0.27 to 2.09), @entity158 at week 4-8 ES = 1.30 (95% CI 0.55 to 2.04), @entity158 at week 12-24 ES = -0.38 (95% CI -0.85 to 0.08) and @entity158 at week 48 ES = 0.07 (95% CI -0.60 to 0.75)). Sensitivity analyses indicated similar results whatever the localisation, type of @entity134 and type of comparator except for NSAIDs: @entity134 injections were not significantly better than NSAIDs in the short-term. @entity134 injections appeared more effective than pooled other treatments in acute or subacute @entity924 . The main side effects were transient @entity158 after injection (10.7% of corticosteroid injections) and skin modification (4.0%). CONCLUSIONS: @entity134 injections are well tolerated and more effective for @entity924 in the short-term than pooled other treatments, though similar to NSAIDs. No long-term benefit was shown.
