Efficacy of Prolotherapy for Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Current treatments for osteoarthritis do not resolve the underlying cause. Dextrose prolotherapy is an alternative method that has been proposed for treatment of osteoarthritis, due to its ability to aid tissue regeneration, improve clinical manifestations, and repair damaged tissue structures, which are pathological conditions in osteoarthritis. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the efficacy of dextrose prolotherapy compared with other interventions in the management of osteoarthritis. METHODS: Electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, and BioMed Central were searched from inception to October 2021. Search terms included [(prolotherapy) OR (prolotherapies) OR (dextrose prolotherapy)] AND [(osteoarthritis) OR (osteoarthritides) OR (knee osteoarthritis) OR (hip osteoarthritis) OR (hand osteoarthritis) OR (shoulder osteoarthritis)]. Randomized controlled trials that compared the use of dextrose prolotherapy with other interventions (injection, placebo, therapy, or conservative treatment) in the treatment of osteoarthritis were included. Potential articles were screened for eligibility, and data were extracted by all authors. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Study population, methods, and results data were extracted and tabulated by 3 authors. RESULTS: 12 studies reported that DPT was as effective or even more effective in improving functional outcomes compared with other interventions whilst others found that HA, PRP, EP, and ACS were more effective. 14 studies assessed the effectiveness of DPT and ten of them reported that DPT was more effective in reducing pain compared with other interventions. CONCLUSION: Dextrose prolotherapy in osteoarthritis confers potential benefits for pain and functional outcomes, but this systematic review found that the studies to date are at high risk of bias.

Optimizing Early Rehabilitation Intervention: Insights from Different Outcomes in 2 Patients with Severe COVID-19.

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 that has subsequently become pandemic worldwide. The more severe the symptoms, the more comprehensive and complex are the methods needed to treat patients. The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the role of rehabilitation as one of the pillars in COVID-19 management, considering its advantages. It has been implemented in some countries' guidelines, but it is not stated in Indonesia's guideline. Thus, rehabilitation intervention is sometimes neglected or delayed. This case report aims to describe the possible benefit of optimizing the rehabilitation program during hospitalization. CASE REPORT We describe 2 patients with severe COVID-19: Patient A was a 53-year-old man without comorbidities and Patient B was a 68-year-old man with several comorbidities. Patient A was discharged from the hospital with respiratory sequelae (dyspnea, cough, and desaturation) and muscle weakness in both limbs after 2 months of hospitalization without rehabilitation intervention. Then, he returned to work 3 months after rehabilitation. Patient B was discharged without any significant sequelae after undergoing rehabilitation during hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS Early physical rehabilitation in severe cases of COVID-19 has several potential benefits, including improved muscle strength, physical function, and quality of life, as well as reduced health care costs and length of stay (LOS). We believe that an early rehabilitation program in severe cases of COVID-19 is needed, but the physician still has to consider the patients' condition and capacity into to decide what kind of exercise should be programmed by the team.