Effectiveness of sub-acromial injections in rotator cuff injuries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Table 3 The main characteristics of the included studies for rotator cuff tendinopathy

Ref.	Technique	Follow-up			Intervention						Pain score	Functional score	Complementary imaging examination	Adverse effects
		S	M	L	PL	HA	PRP	HA+PRP	CE	PR
Rotator cuff tendinopathy
Akgün et al[33]	Not guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	No	16	-	-	-	32*	-	VAS	CMS	NE	Dyspepsia
Alvarez et al[34]	Not guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	No	28	-	-	-	30	-	VAS	ASES DASH ROM WORC	NE	NE
Barreto et al[35]	Not guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	No	-	-	26	-	25	-	NE	CMS DASH UCLA	NE	None
Lin et al[36]	Guided by US intratendineous	Yes	Yes	No	28	-	-	-	-	29	VAS	ROM SPADI	US	NE
Chang et al[37]	Guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	No	25	-	-	-	-	25	VAS	ROM SPADI	US	NE
Kim et al[38]	Guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	No	-	38	-	-	42	-	VAS	ASES ROM	NE	Nasopharynx, musculoskeletal pain, local pain, and cough
Cole et al[39]	Guided by US sub-acromial + intratendineous	Yes	Yes	No	-	-	-	-	19	17	Likert	ROM	US	NE
Hsieh et al[40]	Guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	No	58	60	-	-	68	-	VAS	ROM SD SF-36 SPADI	NE	NE
Damjanov et al[41]	Guided by US peritendineous + enthesis	Yes	Yes	No	-	-	15	-	16	-	VAS	CMS	NE	Headache, arterial hypertension, facial erythema, and moon face
Lin et al[42]	Guided by US intratendineous	Yes	No	No	15	-	-	-	-	6	VAS	ROM SPADI	US	None
Meloni et al[43]	Guided by US sub-acromial	Yes	Yes	Yes	28	28	-	-	-	-	VAS	ROM	US	None

S: Short-term; M: Medium-term; L: Long-term; PL: Placebo; HA: Hyaluronic acid; PRP: Platelet rich plasma; CE: Corticoid; PR: Prolotherapy; VAS: Visual Analogue Scale; CMS: Constant-Murley Score; ASES: American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Score; WORC: Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index; SPADI: Shoulder, Pain and Disability Index; ROM: Range of Motion; SST: Simple Shoulder Test; SANE: Single assessment numerical evaluation; DASH: Disabilities of arm, shoulder, and hand score; UCLA: University of California at Los Angeles Shoulder Score; SF-36: 36-item Short-Form Health Survey; SDQ: Shoulder disability questionnaire; US: Ultrasound; MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging; NE: Not evaluated.