Comparison of the analgesic effect of xylocaine only with xylocaine and corticosteroid injection after ultrasonographically-guided percutaneous treatment for rotator cuff calcific tendonosis

BackgroundThe analgesic effect of xylocaine alone versus xylocaine with corticosteroid injection after ultrasonographically (US)-guided treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendonosis has not been described in English literature. The aim of this study was to compare the analgesic effect of xylocaine only with xylocaine and corticosteroid following US-guided percutaneous treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendonosis.MethodsThis prospective study enrolled 88 patients who were given different analgesic treatments [xylocaine only, n = 23; xylocaine with corticosteroid, n = 44; control (no xylocaine or corticosteroid), n = 21]. The assessment of a patient's painful symptoms was recorded before treatment, and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after treatment using the visual analogue scale (VAS).ResultsThere were no significant differences in age, sex, calcification size before and after treatment, and amount of calcification decrease after treatment, but there was a significant difference in calcification morphology among the groups (p = 0.010). General linear model analysis indicated that the three groups had no difference in pain prior to treatment. After treatment, the xylocaine only and the xylocaine with corticosteroid groups had less pain than the control group at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after treatment. At 3 months after treatment, the xylocaine only group had less pain than the control group (p = 0.039), and the xylocaine with corticosteroid and control groups had similar levels of pain.ConclusionInjection of xylocaine alone after US-guided treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendonosis provided a longer pain relief period than that of a mixture of xylocaine with corticosteroid.