Topical glyceryl trinitrate for the treatment of tendinopathies: a systematic review.
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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To produce a best evidence synthesis of the clinical effects of topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) in the treatment of tendinopathies. DESIGN:A systematic review of published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of the use of GTN in patients with tendinopathy. DATA SOURCES:MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus and CINAHL from database inception to January 2018. METHODS:We examined RCTs comparing the effects of topical GTN with either placebo or other treatments on tendinopathy. Overall quality of each eligible study was determined based on a combined assessment of internal validity, external validity and precision. The level of evidence for each assessed parameter was rated based on the system by van Tulder et al. RESULTS:A total of 10 eligible RCTs were identified including patients with tendinopathy of the rotator cuff (n=4), wrist extensors (n=3), Achilles (n=2) and patellar (n=1) tendons. For all tendinopathies, improvements in pain were significant when comparing GTN versus placebo in the short term (<8 weeks; poor evidence). Significant improvements in midterm outcomes for treatment with GTN versus placebo included the following: patient satisfaction (strong evidence); chances of being asymptomatic with activities of daily living (strong evidence); range of movement (moderate evidence); strength (moderate evidence); pain (at night and with activity; poor evidence) and local tenderness (poor evidence). Patients treated with topical GTN reported a higher incidence of headaches than those who received placebo (moderate evidence). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:Treatment of tendinopathies with topical GTN for up to 6 months appears to be superior to placebo and may therefore be a useful adjunct to the treating healthcare professions.
SUBMITTER: Challoumas D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6362607 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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