By Jordana Bieze Foster
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection in patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis is associated with significant improvement in pain and function, according to research from Milan, Italy, presented in March at the AAOS meeting.
Investigators from Orthopaedic Arthroscopy Surgery International (OASI) prospectively followed 80 patients with knee OA after each received two intra-articular PRP injections, one month apart. More than half of the patients repeated the injections at six and 12 months or at 12 and 18 months.
At 24-month follow up, all patients demonstrated significant improvements from baseline on multiple outcome measures. Half of the patients had undergone cartilage shaving or microfracture prior to receiving PRP, but prior surgery did not significantly affect the outcomes.
“I think this can be an alternative to hyaluronic acid or NSAIDs [nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs] to delay total joint replacement,” said Alberto Gobbi, MD, director of OASI, who presented the findings at the AAOS meeting. “We simply want to reduce inflammation and make the patient feel
better.”
Source:
Gobbi A, Karnatzikos G. The use of platelet-rich plasma in degenerative lesions of the knee: results at two-year follow up. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Chicago, March 2013.
