Brian Cole, MD and colleagues at Rush Medical Center sought to evaluate the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) injections versus HA injections alone for the management of knee osteoarthritis (OA).
How did the authors perform this study?
Eligible randomized-controlled trials and observational studies directly comparing combined PRP-HA injections with HA injections alone were identified through a literature search.
What did the authors find?
4 studies comprising 377 patients (PRP-HA: 193, HA: 184) with knee OA ranging from I-IV Kellgren-Lawrence grading scale were included.
Symptomatic patients with knee OA who were injected with a combination of PRP and HA demonstrated greater improvement in pain and function compared with patients who received HA injections only.
Patients were assessed by 3-, 6-, and 12-month visual analog scale scores and 12-month WOMAC physical function and stiffness scores.
In summary, the work of Dr. Cole and colleagues provides encouraging evidence for the use of the combined PRP-HA injections in the management of symptomatic patients with knee OA.
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