Table I.
General characteristics of the included studies.
| First author, year (ref.) | Location | Sample size (n) | Average age (years) | Gender (M/F) | BMI in kg/m2 (C/P) | Intervention | Comparison | Study design | Outcomes | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford, 1999 (7) | UK | 54 | 58.2 | - | - | 1 ml 2% lignocaine with 25 mg prednisolone acetate | 2 ml 1% lignocaine hydrochloride | RCT | VAS | 6 months |
| McMillan, 2012 (8) | Australia | 82 | 52.7 | 43/39 | 31.4/30.9 | 1 ml 4 mg/ml dexamethasone sodium phosphate | 1 ml normal saline | RCT | VAS, PFT | 12 weeks |
| Abdihakin, 2012 (9) | Kenya | 88 | 43.1 | 42/46 | 31.7 | Methylprednisolone acetate 40 mg plus conservative treatment | Saline and lidocaine plus conservative treatment | RCT | VAS | 2 months |
| Ball, 2013 (10) | UK | 65 | 49.4 | 29/36 | 31.3/32.4 | 0.5 ml (20 mg) methylprednisolone acetate and 0.5 ml saline | 1 ml 0.9% saline | RCT | VAS, PFT | 12 weeks |
(9) BMI is the overall value of the two groups. M/F, male/female; BMI, body mass index; C/P, corticosteroid/placebo; RCT, randomized controlled trial; VAS, visual analogue score; PFT, plantar fascia thickness.