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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Nov 19;17(1):499.
doi: 10.1186/s13018-022-03398-6.

Efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma combined with hyaluronic acid versus platelet-rich plasma alone for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Qing Zhang  1 , Tuodong Liu  1 , Yuan Gu  1 , Yongquan Gao  1 , Jiangdong Ni  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma combined with hyaluronic acid versus platelet-rich plasma alone for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Qing Zhang et al. J Orthop Surg Res. .

Abstract

Purpose: To systematically evaluate the curative efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA), comparing with platelet-rich plasma alone.

Methods: Cochrane Library, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Embase were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies regarding the efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) comparing with platelet-rich plasma alone before January 15, 2022. The methodological quality of the ultimately included studies was assessed comprehensively, and meta-analysis was implemented using RevMan 5.3 software.

Results: Thirteen articles (9 RCTs, 4 cohort studies), including 1118 patients, were covered. There was no significant difference between the PRP + HA therapy and PRP-alone therapy in VAS scores at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, WOMAC total scores at 3 months and KOOS at 1 month and 6 months. Compared with PRP-alone therapy, PRP + HA therapy was associated with significantly better improvement in VAS scores at 1 month, WOMAC total scores at 6 months, KOOS at 3 months, IKDC scores at 6 months and Lequesne index scores at 3 and 6 months. However, the smallest treatment effect of VAS scores, WOMAC total scores, KOOS and IKDC scores did not exceed the minimum clinically important difference (MCID). However, PRP + HA therapy got a greater reduction in the rate of adverse events, compared with PRP-alone therapy.

Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis indicated that PRP + HA therapy was not found to be superior to PRP-alone therapy in pain relief and function improvement for patients with KOA. However, combined PRP with HA injections was generally safer than PRP injections alone, by assessing the incidence of adverse events.

Keywords: Hyaluronic acid; Knee osteoarthritis; Meta-analysis; Platelet-rich plasma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA search flow diagram (last search: January 2022)
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Fig. 2
Risk of bias summary
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Risk of bias graph
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Fig. 4
Forest plot and meta-analysis of VAS scores (1 month)
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Forest plot and meta-analysis of VAS scores (3 months)
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Fig. 6
Forest plot and meta-analysis of VAS scores (6 months)
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Fig. 7
Forest plot and meta-analysis of VAS scores (12 months)
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Fig. 8
Forest plot and meta-analysis of WOMAC total scores (3 months)
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Fig. 9
Forest plot and meta-analysis of WOMAC total scores (6 months)
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Fig. 10
Forest plot and meta-analysis of KOOS (1 month)
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Forest plot and meta-analysis of KOOS (3 months)
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Fig. 12
Forest plot and meta-analysis of KOOS (6 months)
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Fig. 13
Forest plot and meta-analysis of IKDC scores (6 months)
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Fig. 14
Forest plot and meta-analysis of Lequesne index scores (3 months)
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Fig. 15
Forest plot and meta-analysis of Lequesne index scores (6 months)
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Fig. 16
Forest plot and meta-analysis of Adverse events
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