Abstract: Aims: The effectiveness of Platelet rich plasma (PRP) is still controversial in osteoarthritis. We investigated the effect of PRP injection in patients with knee osteoarthritis based on improving function and decreasing pain. Our aim and objective is to assess the functional outcome of PRP in patients with early osteoarthritis, Kellgren-Lawrence Grade-1, 2 and to evaluate PRP as a treatment option for early osteoarthritis of knee joint.
Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study included 50 cases of osteoarthritis of knee of either sex fitting inclusion criteria which was conducted between November 2017 to June 2019. Patients underwent detailed history, clinical and radiological evaluation on first visit and were later followed up for a minimum period of 6 months. Autologous PRP extract prepared in Haematalogy lab and Intraarticular injections injected at 3 weeks interval at 3 sittings each. The outcome was assessed using International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores recorded prior to injections and at 2 and 6 months after the injection course.
Results: The mean age in our study is 52.48.The mean IKDC score increased from baseline of 38.63 to 59.68 at 6 month follow up, which is statistically significant (p value < 0.0001). The mean VAS score increased from 7.20 to 3.72 which is statistically significant (p value = 0.0001). After 2 month of follow up, there was significant improvement of VAS and IKDC score. The VAS and IKDC score showed improvement in all four age groups. Minor complications were reported.
Conclusion: Autologous PRP injections based on current evidence have effective pain reduction than other preparations with additional significant functional improvement in early osteoarthritis. More large studies with longer follow up are needed to confirm these early results and to test PRP injection as a part of management in osteoarthritis of knee.
