Editor-in-Chief: Alaa Abd-Elsayed, MD, PhD
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BACKGROUND: Patients with DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis are often treated with a combination of cortisone injections and wrist braces with thumb spica splints. This combination is effective for most patients. For some patients, the pain remains refractory.
CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 38-year-old woman with recurrent episodes of DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis who had experienced periods of relief from a combination of cortisone injections and nighttime splinting. However, she also had adverse effects from these injections including skin bleaching and fat atrophy. The patient underwent a leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection and experienced > 6 months of pain relief. In addition, the skin discoloration and fat atrophy that had been present for approximately 15 months completely resolved.
CONCLUSIONS: PRP may be a viable nonsurgical treatment option for recalcitrant DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis. It may also be an option for patients with cortisone-induced negative cosmetic effects. To our knowledge, this is the first report addressing the effects of PRP on either DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis or cortisone-induced skin discoloration and atrophy.
KEY WORDS: Platelet rich plasma, regenerative medicine, DeQuervain’s, tenosynovitis, radial tenosynovitis, cortisone, discoloration, bleaching, fat atrophy, Finkelstein
