PRP superior to HA for osteoarthritis of the knee

PRP may be superior to hyaluronic acid for improvement of pain, function in patients with OA

LOS ANGELES — Use of intra-articular platelet-rich plasma significantly improved pain and function in patients with osteoarthritis at 6 months and may be a superior alternative to hyaluronic acid, according to study findings presented at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Annual Meeting.

“Our study suggests that lower-leukocyte [platelet-rich plasma] is… effective in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, with superior and meaningful clinical differences in favor of [platelet-rich plasma] over [hyaluronic acid] at 6 months and 12 months,” Annemarie Tilton, BBA, said during her presentation.

Tilton and colleagues randomly assigned 99 patients with a minimum of 3 months of symptomatic unilateral knee osteoarthritis (OA) and Kellgren Lawrence grade 1-3 OA to receive 3 weekly injections of either platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or hyaluronic acid (HA). Patients completed Lysholm, IKDC, WOMAC and VAS pain surveys and underwent clinical examination at 6 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after index treatment. During each treatment visit and at 3-month and 6-month follow-up, patients also underwent ultrasound-guided knee aspiration for synovial fluid analysis.

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