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. 2024 Jul;16(3):239-249.
doi: 10.1177/17585732231174184. Epub 2023 May 17.

Is platelet-rich plasma a new solution for shoulder adhesive capsulitis? A systematic scoping review of the literature

Seif Tarek El-Swaify  1 , Mazen A Refaat  1 , Aly A AbdelWahab  1 , Mohamed ElSayed E Seddik  1 , Abdelrahman E Mostafa Abdelrazek  1 , Youssef Doas  1 , Pavly Wagih Beshay  1
Affiliations

Is platelet-rich plasma a new solution for shoulder adhesive capsulitis? A systematic scoping review of the literature

Seif Tarek El-Swaify et al. Shoulder Elbow. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has shown promising results for adhesive shoulder capsulitis (AC) in pre-clinical models. The aim of this review is to investigate the clinical outcomes of using PRP in AC.

Materials and methods: We conducted a systematic scoping review of the literature using bibliographic databases from inception until the 9th of January 2022 [PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and CENTRAL]. Randomized studies were included if they investigated the use of PRP in human patients with a diagnosis of AC. Authors performed individual study quality assessments using the RoB 2 tool.

Results: We screened a total of 470 results and 6 were included in the final synthesis. Studies included data of 578 patients with 263 patients receiving PRP (45.5%). All studies used PRP as part of non-operative treatment. PRP was compared to another intervention in all six studies. Four of these studies found PRP to be more effective. No major adverse effects were reported in any study.

Conclusion: PRP is a safe treatment option that can be added to the investigative treatment arsenal of AC. Despite showing some favorable results, several limitations and patient-centered questions remain to be addressed by future studies.

Level of evidence: IV.

Keywords: adhesive capsulitis; injection therapy; non-operative; platelet-rich plasma; shoulder pain; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) flow-chart for study screening and selection process. From: Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Individual assessments of trial quality using the cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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