Role of concomitant percutaneous pie crusting and local corticosteroid injection in lateral epicondylitis: a prospective, case control study

• Published in: Clinics in shoulder and elbow 2023, Vol.26 (1), p.49-54
• Main Authors: Amyn M. Rajani, Anmol RS Mittal, Vishal Kulkarni, Khushi Rajani, Kashish Rajani
• Format: Article
• Language: Korean
• ISSN: 2383-8337; 2288-8721

Background: Lateral epicondylitis is an increasingly debilitating condition in working population. Evidence for conservative treatment modalities has been inconclusive. Percutaneous pie crusting of the common extensor origin at the lateral epicondyle at the time of local corticosteroid injection (CSI) has been proposed sparsely. The objective of this study was to analyze if concomitant CSI and pie-crusting of the common extensor origin provides better outcome than CSI alone in lateral epicondylitis. Methods: This case-control study on 236 patients was conducted at a single center between January 1, 2020, and May 31, 2022. Patients were divided into two groups (n=118 each) based on their preference. Group A underwent CSI alone and group B underwent pie crusting along with CSI. The clinical and functional outcomes of all patients were evaluated at 2, 4, 6, and 12-week post-procedure using the visual analog scale (VAS) and Nirschl score. The mean time for return to daily activities was also compared. Results: Both groups showed significant improvement in post-procedure outcome at successive follow-ups on intragroup longitudinal analysis (VAS: F=558.384 vs. F=1,529.618, Nirschl: F=791.468 vs. F=1,284.951). On intergroup analysis, VAS of group B was superior to that of group A; however, it was statistically significant (P