Abstract: Background: The most common cause of arthritis of the knee is degenerative osteoarthritis (OA) which is one of the leading causes of disability all over the world. Population which is at higher risk of osteoarthritis are elderly females, patients with obesity, and African Americans. This is a concerning factor for the advancement and different modalities of treatment for early diagnosis and early intervention in degenerative and progressive joint disease of the knee. As a recent advance in treatment platelet-rich plasma (PRP) infiltration has come to the limelight for its advantages over others.
Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of platelet rich plasma in the treatment of grade 1 osteoarthritis of the knee.
Methods: Patients at Vydehi institute of medical science and research centre, Bangalore with radiologically confirmed grade 1 osteoarthritis of the knee were included after adequate counseling and consent. They were evaluated and followed up with Visual Analogue Score (VAS) and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores at the end of 6 months.
Results: In a study of 100 patients with grade 1 osteoarthritis evaluated with Visual Analogue Score and International Knee Documentation Committee scoring at the end of 6 months with a mean score of 3.34 and 76.14 respectively. The study shows there is a positive correlation for the effectiveness of PRP in the treatment of grade 1 OA of the knee.
Conclusion: PRP therapy is a simple, inexpensive, and minimally invasive intervention that is feasible to deliver in primary care to treat degenerative lesions of the articular cartilage of the knee. This therapy appears to have minimal associated adverse events and may have beneficial effects in terms of pain, health utility, patient satisfaction, and goal-orientated outcomes.
