Abstract

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint disease that occurs because of various reasons that cause the imbalance between destruction and repair in the joint cartilage and subchondral bone. The purpose of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in knee OA is to increase cartilage regeneration owing to the growth factors it contains. This study measured the short-term efficacy of consecutive PRP injections in patients with OA of the knee.

Methods: Patients with Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) stage 2-4 knee OA were included in the study. Three sessions of PRP injections at 2-week intervals were applied to 78 knees of 55 patients. The visual analog scale was used on day 0, week 4 and week 16 to assess pain. Additionally, the functional status was measured by Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA index which contains pain, stiffness and disability sub-scores.

Results: Of the 55 patients, 45 were female. The mean age was 59.4±9.4 years. A total of 22 patients had bilateral knee involvement, and 51 of the 78 knee joints were classified as KL grade 3-4 OA and the other 27 knee joints were classified as KL grade 2.

Conclusion: It was shown that PRP injection was effective on pain and limitation of movement in knee OA for 16 weeks. Also, it has been noted that early injections provide a more significant reduction in pain in knee OA.