Platelet-rich plasma for the management of intrauterine adhesions: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) infusion after adhesiolysis in patients with intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) by establishing the evidence from published randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Google Scholar databases were screened from inception till June 2021. Risk of bias of included studies was evaluated according to the Cochrane's Collaboration tool. The efficacy endpoints were summarized as risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) under the fixed-effects model.

Results: Three RCTs met the inclusion criteria, comprising a total of 260 patients (132 and 128 patients were allocated to PRP and control groups, respectively). The RCTs revealed an overall low risk of bias. Compared with the control group, the PRP group had a statistically significant higher rate of patients with IUAs grade I-II after intervention (n = 3 RCTs, RR=1.23, 95% CI [1.11 to 1.36], p<0.001), higher duration of menstrual menses after intervention (n = 3 RCTs, MD=1.13 days, 95% CI [0.86 to 1.41], p<0.001), and higher amount of menstrual menses after intervention (n = 3 RCTs, MD=2.96 pads, 95% CI [0.31 to 3.61], p<0.001). All pooled analyses were homogeneous.

Conclusion: PRP treatment after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis is effective in decreasing the IUA grade and improving the duration and amount of menstrual menses. Nonetheless, additional RCTs are warranted to validate these conclusions.

Keywords: Asherman's syndrome; Intrauterine adhesions; Meta-analysis; PRP; Platelet-rich plasma.