Objective:

The incidence of osteoarthritis (OA) is rising, influenced by an aging population and the epidemic of obesity. Recent estimates suggest that symptomatic knee OA affects 13% of persons aged 60 years or older. In the last two decades, several agents, which can be introduced with minimal invasive means, have been developed to alleviate pain in these patients. We aimed to evaluate the effect of platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy on pain and functions in Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 and 3 gonarthrosis.

Material and Methods:

Medical records of 73 individuals who have had PRP therapy were evaluated retrospectively. 29 individuals, whose records were either absent or were lost to follow up, were excluded from the study. Inclusion criteria were: suffering from Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 and 3 primary gonarthrosis, age over 50, no pain originating from herniated nucleus pulposus, and having complete VAS and KSS scores at pre-injection and 6th month postinjection admittion. Visual analog scale (VAS) and knee society score (KSS) were used to evaluate changes in pain and function levels.

Results:

Improvement in VAS scores was detected in 37 (84%) patients (p<0.001). Five (11%) patients reported no change in pain, and two (5%) patients reported minimal worsening (p=0.273). KSS scores were improved in 40 (90%) patients and showed no changed in four (10%) patients (p<0.001). Worsening was not detected in any of the patients. Pre-injection mean KSS was recorded at 65, 41±7.49 and post-injection was recorded at 82.70±5.64. Worsening in KSS scores was not detected; which means that knee functions were maintained by PRP therapy.

Conclusion:

PRP therapy is a cheap and attainable agent that can alleviate pain. Knee function can be maintained in patients suffering from mild to moderate gonarthrosis with PRP therapy. However, further studies will be needed to define exact doses, ideal concentration of platelets, and injection frequency of agents.

Keywords: gonarthrosis, intra-articular injection, plateletrich plasma