Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 Feb;51(2):227-233.
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001781.

Sodium Hyaluronate and Platelet-Rich Plasma for Partial-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

Y U Cai  1 , Zhenxing Sun  2 , Bokai Liao  3 , Zhanqiang Song  4 , Ting Xiao  1 , Pengfei Zhu  5
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Sodium Hyaluronate and Platelet-Rich Plasma for Partial-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

Y U Cai et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: The treatment of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (PTRCT) remains controversial. Few studies have focused on the conservative and new measurements of small to medium PTRCT. The use of sodium hyaluronate (SH) or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a method for rotator cuff repair requires further investigation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the combined use of SH and PRP in the treatment of small to medium PTRCT.

Study design: A double-blinded randomized trial was used in this study.

Methods: Individuals with PTRCT detected by clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to receive subacromial injections of normal saline, SH, PRP, or SH + PRP once a week for 4 wk. The primary outcome measure was the Constant score, and the secondary outcomes included the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) and the visual analog scale scores. All of the clinical outcomes were assessed at pretreatment and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months posttreatment. MRI was used to evaluate the evolution of the cuff defect after 1 yr.

Results: The PRP group and the SH + PRP group showed a significantly higher Constant score and ASES score after the treatments. There were significant differences between the SH + PRP group and the SH or PRP group at 12 months in the Constant, visual analog scale, and ASES scores. MRI results showed that the tear size significantly decreased in both the PRP and the SH + PRP groups, especially in the SH + PRP group.

Conclusion: Our study provided evidence of the efficacy of PRP injection in the healing of small to medium PTRCT. Moreover, the combined injection of SH and PRP yielded a better clinical outcome than SH or PRP alone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Inclusion and exclusion criteria. PTRCT, partial-thickness RCT. AP, anterior and posterior position.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Flow chart of study participants.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
A, B, and C, The mean ASES scores, Constant scores, and VAS scores of the four groups, respectively. *P < 0.01 vs NS. †P < 0.01 vs SH. ‡P < 0.01 vs PRP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abtahi AM, Granger EK, Tashjian RZ. Factors affecting healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. World J Orthop. 2015;6(2):211–20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bauer S, Wang A, Butler R, et al. Reliability of a 3 T MRI protocol for objective grading of supraspinatus tendonosis and partial thickness tears. J Orthop Surg Res. 2014;9:128. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wolff AB, Sethi P, Sutton KM, et al. Partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2006;14:715–25. - PubMed
    1. Franceschi F, Papalia R, Del Buono A, et al. Repair of partial tears of the rotator cuff. Sports Med Arthrosc. 2011;19(4):401–8. - PubMed
    1. Alvarez CM, Litchfield R, Jackowski D, et al. A prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial comparing subacromial injection of betamethasone and xylocaine to xylocaine alone in chronic rotator cuff tendinosis. Am J Sports Med. 2005;33(2):255–62. - PubMed

Publication types