Dexamethasone Iontophoresis for Musculoskeletal Tendinopathies: A Case Series of Three Patients
Abstract
Iontophoresis is a non-invasive transdermal drug delivery technique that uses low-voltage electric current to deliver ionized medications into soft tissues. Despite guideline recommendations supporting dexamethasone iontophoresis for tendinopathies, the existing evidence consists primarily of condition-specific randomized controlled trials and single-site retrospective studies, with no published case series illustrating the real-world application of dexamethasone iontophoresis across multiple tendinopathy types within a single report. This case series describes the outcomes of dexamethasone iontophoresis as part of multimodal physical therapy for three distinct tendinopathies. This retrospective case series included three patients treated at a Veterans Affairs physical therapy clinic with dexamethasone sodium phosphate (4 mg/mL) iontophoresis (40 mA-min per session) using the ActivaDose II system. While the small sample size limits generalizability, this series is intended to illustrate the real-world clinical application of dexamethasone iontophoresis across multiple tendinopathy types rather than to establish efficacy. Concurrent interventions included therapeutic exercise, patient education, and orthotic management. Outcomes assessed included pain (0-10 numeric scale), range of motion, grip strength, and Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI) scores. Case 1 (de Quervain's tenosynovitis) is a 47-year-old man with persistent, functionally limiting wrist pain who completed…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Ferulic acid regulates the AKT/GSK-3β/CRMP-2 signaling pathway in a middle cerebral artery occlusion animal model
- Novel Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Parameters Quantify the Exposure–Effect Relationship of Levofloxacin against Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Escherichia coli
- Photochemical behavior of levofloxacin
- Correlation Between Dissolution Profiles of Salt-Form Drugs in Biorelevant Bicarbonate Buffer and Oral Drug Absorption: Importance of Dose/ Fluid Volume Ratio
- Evaluation of the synergistic potential and mechanisms of action for de novo designed cationic antimicrobial peptides
- Synthesis of [11C]levofloxacin
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.