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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Apr 30:2021:2191926.
doi: 10.1155/2021/2191926. eCollection 2021.

Efficacy and Safety of Intra-Articular Platelet-Rich Plasma in Osteoarthritis Knee: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Mao Hong  1   2 , Chongjie Cheng  2   3 , Xiaowei Sun  2   3 , Yan Yan  2   4 , Qidong Zhang  2 , Weiguo Wang  2 , Wanshou Guo  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy and Safety of Intra-Articular Platelet-Rich Plasma in Osteoarthritis Knee: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Mao Hong et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common disease in aged adults. Intra-articular (IA) injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is an effective minimally invasive treatment for KOA. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with placebo or other conservative treatments.

Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis to identify relevant articles from online register databases such as PubMed, Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. The primary outcomes were the visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score. The secondary outcome was the adverse event rate.

Results: A total of 895 articles were identified, of which 23 randomized controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria were determined as eligible. Compared with placebo, PRP had a lower VAS score and higher IKDC subjective score at the 6th month after treatment and significantly less WOMAC score during the follow-up period. Compared with oral NSAIDs, PRP gained a lower WOMAC score at the 6th month after treatment. The VAS score decreased after treatment when reaching PRP and CS. As compared to the HA, the VAS score, WOMAC score, and IKDC subjective score all revealed better PRP results. There were no significant differences in adverse event rates comparing PRP versus placebo or HA. Different PRP applications did not show significant differences in VAS score in the 1st month and WOMAC score in the 3rd month after treatment.

Conclusion: To compare with the conservative treatments mentioned above, PRP is more effective in relieving symptoms. There were no significant differences between triple PRP application and single PRP application in short-term curative effect.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest were declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Results of the methodological quality evaluations. Green indicates that the criterion is satisfied. Yellow indicates that it is unclear whether the criterion is satisfied or not. Red indicates that the study did not meet the criterion.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRISMA flowchart. A total of 895 studies were evaluated. Titles and abstracts were assessed, and 39 full-text articles were eligible for evaluation. Sixteen articles were excluded, and 23 articles remained for the final analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot analysis of (a) VAS score, (b) WOMAC score, (c) IKDC subjective score, and (d) adverse events between PRP and saline.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot analysis of (a) VAS score and (b) adverse events between PRP and HA.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plot analysis of (a) VAS score at 1st month and (b) WOMAC score at 3rd month between triple PRP and single PRP.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Subgroup forest plot analysis of (a) WOMAC score and (b) IKDC subjective score between LP-PRP or LR-PRP and HA.
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