Hypertonic dextrose versus corticosteroid local injection for the treatment of osteoarthritis in the first carpometacarpal joint: a double-blind randomized clinical trial

摘要

Purpose To compare the advantages of prolotherapy in the treatment of first carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (OA) with those of corticosteroid local injection in the short and long term.Methods We performed a randomized controlled trial from March 2010 to March 2011 in an outpatient clinic at a university hospital. Sixty participants (60 hands) with OA of the first carpometacarpal joint were assigned equally to two groups. For the corticosteroid group, after 2 monthly saline placebo injections, a single dose of 40 mg methyl-prednisolone acetate (0.5 ml) mixed with 0.5 ml of 2 % lidocaine was injected. For the dextrose (DX) group, 0.5 ml of 20 % DX was mixed with 0.5 ml of 2 % lidocaine and the injection was repeated monthly for 3 months. Pain intensity, hand function and the strength of lateral pinch grip were measured at the baseline and at 1, 2, and 6 months after the treatment.