Treatment of chronic tendinopathies with autologous growth factors: A literature review [Behandeling van chronische tendinopathieën met autologe qroeifactoren]

Treatment of chronic tendinopathies is often difficult. A promising therapy is an injection of autologous growth factors. This can be established by application of autologous whole blood and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP). This review aims to evaluate the clinical application of injections with autologous growth factors in tendinopathies based on a systematic literature review. Studies that evaluated the effect of autologous blood injections were included after a systematic search strategy in electronic databases. The methodological quality of these studies was determined using the PEDro score. Seven articles were included, one of which had a good methodological quality. The included studies showed that injections of autologous growth factors have a significant effect on pain reduction. The only methodologically sound study showed that the effect of autologous growth factors was not better than an injection of corticosteroids. Therefore, the conclusion must be that at present there is insufficient evidence to recommend an injection of autologous blood or PRP. The effects of injections of autologous growth factors must be assessed in large methodologically well designed studies which use a control group with randomisation and blinding procedures.