RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a common musculoskeletal disorder. Although varieties of modalities have been proposed for its treatment, the outcomes are uncertain, and the responses would diminish early by the time passage. The current study was aimed to assess the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) merely and in combination with topical corticosteroid for the treatment of LE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the current double-blinded randomized clinical trial, 70 patients with the diagnosis of LE were randomly allocated to two intervention groups of ESWT merely (control group) (n=35) or ESWT plus topical corticosteroid (intervention group) (n=35). The ESWT was performed weekly for three weeks. Topical clobetasol was utilized within 30 minutes before ESWT for the intervention group, while Vaseline gel was used in a similar pattern for controls. Pain based on a visual analog scale (VAS), handgrip strength (HGS) and the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) were assessed for the patients before the intervention, following the intervention cessation, and within two months post-intervention. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvement was found following both interventions in terms of pain, HGS, and function (P-value<0.001 for all), while the comparison of the two interventions, ESWT, merely versus in combination with topical clobetasol, revealed insignificant difference (P-value>0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings of our study are in favor of ESWT use either merely or in combination with topical steroids for the treatment of LE, while the comparison of the two techniques revealed insignificant differences.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin are two acute phase reactants. CRP may be related to metabolic syndrome and ferritin which in turn could cause resistance to insulin and dysfunction of b cells of pancreases. The aim of the study was the evaluation of the relationship of these two acute phase reactants with some indices of diabetic control. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a quasi-experimental study, 67 patients with type 2 diabetes, serum CRP, ferritin, Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), post prandial BS, Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), triglyceride, Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL) and High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) were checked before and 3 months after the control of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.5 ± 9.7 (30 to 82) years. There was no significant difference between CRP before and after study; however, serum ferritin significantly decreased after study with control of hyperglycemia. FBS, 2 hours post-prandial blood sugar (2hppBS), HbA1c and triglyceride of patients decreased significantly after control of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia (P < 0.05); however, HDL and LDL cholesterol didn't change (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on our results, serum ferritin decreased after decline of patients' blood sugar, so might be we used it as one of the diabetes control indices for diabetic patients.
