The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic benefit of local Glycosaminoglycan
polysulfate (GAGPS) injections in the treatment of chronic epicondylalgia. The study
was conducted as a prospective, placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Sixty patients
with a typical history of pain for at least 3 months who attended two private orthopaedic
clinics in Stockholm received 50 mg GAGPS or placebo injections, one injection a week,
for five weeks. The main outcome measures were the patients' evaluation of pain in
connection with daily activities with a visual analogue scale and the number of treatment
failures. The follow-up period was six months. The difference in reduction of painscore
(VAS) ranging between 11.1 percentage units at the half-year follow-up and 20.9 percentage
units 2 weeks after the treatment period is clinically good. The number of treatment
failures in the GAGPS treatment groups at the 6 week follow-up was only 4 (13 %) compared
with 12 (40 %) of the placebo treated patients. At the half-year follow-up 5 of those
who received GAGPS had experienced a recurrency. The recurrency rate is thus smaller
than most of those reported in controlled studies with corticosteroids. In the GAGPS
treated group 13 patients reported on local pain after some injections, 2 cases combined
with local haematomas, compared with 5 cases of local pain in the placebo group. The
results confirm previous good results of GAGPS injection therapy in subchronic and
chronic peritendinitis.
Key words
Lateral humeral epicondylalgia - epicondylitis - injection therapy - glycosaminoglycan
polysulfate
