Intra-articular Corticosteroid Injections to Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) for Cervical Facetogenic Pain

NCT ID: NCT04392999

Last Updated: 2024-08-20

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE2/PHASE3

Total Enrollment

55 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-02-01

Study Completion Date

2024-08-15

Brief Summary

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Chronic neck pain, either after trauma (e.g. whiplash injury) or due to arthritis, is a significant issue for many Canadians. Steroid injections into the small joints of the neck can provide temporary pain relief, but patients require repeat injections every few months. The investigator will assess whether a different type of injection (platelet-rich plasma, PRP) can provide enhanced and longer-lasting pain relief compared to steroid. PRP is made from the patient's own blood but contains higher levels of components that promote healing. Patients with neck pain will receive either an injection of steroid or PRP into the small joints of the neck, but they won't know which one they are getting. After the injection they will be contacted to answer questions about their pain and function, up to 12 months after injection. The goal of this study is to determine if PRP is a viable alternative to current treatments to help reduce chronic neck pain and improve function after a whiplash injury. PRP may be a more permanent treatment for chronic neck pain which could reduce the need for repeated injections, thus reducing health care costs and wait times.

Detailed Description

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The project utilizes a randomized control trial design. Ethics approval was obtained from the Western Research Ethics Board. Participants with chronic neck pain will be recruited from the SJHC Pain Clinic.

Eligible candidates who consent to study participation will be block randomized using randomizer.org into two groups (A or B). All patients will be blinded both before and after injections as to which therapy they receive. Group A will receive an intra-articular (IA) injection of autologous PRP (0.5 mL per level) and Group B will receive IA injections of corticosteroid (1.5 mL per level).

PRP: PRP preparation will occur at St. Joseph's Hospital using a standard 2-step centrifugation method. The Co-Investigator will draw 5-10cc of venous blood under sterile conditions (all patients) and subsequently centrifuge these samples at 200g for 10 minutes at room temperature. The plasma will then be separated from the sedimented erythrocytes and centrifuged again at 400g for 10 min to remove additional platelet-poor plasma. Finally, 1-2cc of PRP will be prepared for intra-articular injection. To maintain blinding, those in Group B will also have blood collection done, although their samples will not be injected.

Corticosteroid: 0.5 cc saline and 0.5cc of 10 mg/mL dexamethasone per facet joint (up to 6 mL total volume for 4 facet injections) will be prepared by the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator.

Depending on randomization, the appropriate syringe will be delivered to the SJHC Pain Clinci interventional suite immediately after preparation. All injections will be performed by the same physician under fluoroscopic guidance at the same level(s) as the prior successful medial branch blocks. A small amount of contrast will be injected to ensure IA placement. It is recognized that IA placement may not be possible in every situation. It will be noted by the physician whether the injection is felt to be peri- or intra-articular.

Follow-up: Primary and secondary outcomes will be collected via phone or in person, pre-injection, and at 1, 3, and 6 months post-injection. If there is ongoing benefit ≥2 points on the NRS at 6 months, additional follow-up of primary and secondary outcomes at 9 and 12 months will be done.

Conditions

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Cervical Pain

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Eligible participants who consent to study participation will be randomized to one of two groups: PRP injections, or corticosteroid injections.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Caregivers Outcome Assessors
The participants as well as the individuals collecting and analyzing outcome data will be blinded. The Primary Investigator, who is also the physician delivering the study compound, will not be blinded but will have no role in data collection or analysis.

Study Groups

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Platelet Rich Plasma

One time injection of 1.5-6cc of platelet rich plasma prepared from a blood sample into cervical facet joints. There is no trade/generic name

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Intraarticular platelet rich plasma cervical facet injection

Intervention Type DRUG

Injection of PRP into the cervical facet joints.

Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate

Corticosteroid: 0.5 cc saline and 0.5cc of 10 mg/mL dexamethasone per facet joint (up to 6 mL total volume for 4 facet injections)

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Corticosteroid injection

Intervention Type DRUG

Injection of corticosteroid into the cervical facet joints.

Interventions

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Intraarticular platelet rich plasma cervical facet injection

Injection of PRP into the cervical facet joints.

Intervention Type DRUG

Corticosteroid injection

Injection of corticosteroid into the cervical facet joints.

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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PRP injection

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* At least 18 years old
* Facetogenic neck pain at least 4/10 on NRS after whiplash injury
* At least 50% relief of familiar neck pain after dual cervical medial branch blocks

Exclusion Criteria

* Suspected serious spinal pathology
* Fracture/dislocation at time of injury
* Nerve root compromise
* Spinal surgery or RFN in the past 12 months
* Prior corticosteroid cervical facet injection in past 6 months
* History of any uncontrolled mental health conditions
* Other contraindications to spinal injections
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Eldon Loh, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

St. Joseph's Healthcare London

Locations

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St. Joseph's Health Care London

London, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

References

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Carroll LJ, Holm LW, Hogg-Johnson S, Cote P, Cassidy JD, Haldeman S, Nordin M, Hurwitz EL, Carragee EJ, van der Velde G, Peloso PM, Guzman J; Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders. Course and prognostic factors for neck pain in whiplash-associated disorders (WAD): results of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2008 Feb 15;33(4 Suppl):S83-92. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181643eb8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18204405 (View on PubMed)

Lim JW, Cho YW, Lee DG, Chang MC. Comparison of Intraarticular Pulsed Radiofrequency and Intraarticular Corticosteroid Injection for Management of Cervical Facet Joint Pain. Pain Physician. 2017 Sep;20(6):E961-E967.

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Manchikanti L. Role of neuraxial steroids in interventional pain management. Pain Physician. 2002 Apr;5(2):182-99.

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Wu J, Zhou J, Liu C, Zhang J, Xiong W, Lv Y, Liu R, Wang R, Du Z, Zhang G, Liu Q. A Prospective Study Comparing Platelet-Rich Plasma and Local Anesthetic (LA)/Corticosteroid in Intra-Articular Injection for the Treatment of Lumbar Facet Joint Syndrome. Pain Pract. 2017 Sep;17(7):914-924. doi: 10.1111/papr.12544. Epub 2017 Feb 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27989008 (View on PubMed)

Barnsley L, Lord SM, Wallis BJ, Bogduk N. Lack of effect of intraarticular corticosteroids for chronic pain in the cervical zygapophyseal joints. N Engl J Med. 1994 Apr 14;330(15):1047-50. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199404143301504.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8127332 (View on PubMed)

Falco FJ, Datta S, Manchikanti L, Sehgal N, Geffert S, Singh V, Smith HS, Boswell MV. An updated review of the diagnostic utility of cervical facet joint injections. Pain Physician. 2012 Nov-Dec;15(6):E807-38.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23159977 (View on PubMed)

Hoy D, March L, Woolf A, Blyth F, Brooks P, Smith E, Vos T, Barendregt J, Blore J, Murray C, Burstein R, Buchbinder R. The global burden of neck pain: estimates from the global burden of disease 2010 study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014 Jul;73(7):1309-15. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204431. Epub 2014 Jan 30.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24482302 (View on PubMed)

Le ADK, Enweze L, DeBaun MR, Dragoo JL. Current Clinical Recommendations for Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2018 Dec;11(4):624-634. doi: 10.1007/s12178-018-9527-7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30353479 (View on PubMed)

Lord SM, Barnsley L, Wallis BJ, McDonald GJ, Bogduk N. Percutaneous radio-frequency neurotomy for chronic cervical zygapophyseal-joint pain. N Engl J Med. 1996 Dec 5;335(23):1721-6. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199612053352302.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8929263 (View on PubMed)

MacVicar J, Borowczyk JM, MacVicar AM, Loughnan BM, Bogduk N. Cervical medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy in New Zealand. Pain Med. 2012 May;13(5):647-54. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01351.x. Epub 2012 Mar 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22458772 (View on PubMed)

Manchikanti L, Hirsch JA, Kaye AD, Boswell MV. Cervical zygapophysial (facet) joint pain: effectiveness of interventional management strategies. Postgrad Med. 2016 Jan;128(1):54-68. doi: 10.1080/00325481.2016.1105092. Epub 2015 Dec 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Persson M, Sorensen J, Gerdle B. Chronic Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD): Responses to Nerve Blocks of Cervical Zygapophyseal Joints. Pain Med. 2016 Dec;17(12):2162-2175. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnw036. Epub 2016 Mar 27.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28025352 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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ELPRP01

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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