1.
Platelet-rich plasma injection vs corticosteroid injection for conservative treatment of rotator cuff lesions: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis
Wang C, Zhang Z, Ma Y, Liu X, Zhu Q
Medicine. 2021;100(7):e24680
Abstract
BACKGROUND To explore the effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection regarding functional recovery, pain relief, and range of motion (ROM) of shoulder compared with the corticosteroid injection in patients with rotator cuff lesions treated non-operatively. METHODS An electronic literature search was performed by 2 authors in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases to identify relevant randomized controlled trial (RCTs) that were published up to July 20, 2020. The quality of the included RCTs was evaluated using the approach recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) or mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to calculate the pooled effect sizes. RESULTS Six RCTs were included in this systematic review. Meta-analysis revealed that corticosteroid injection yielded statistically significant superior functional recovery (SMD = -0.80; 95% CI, -1.42 to -0.18; P = .01) and pain relief (MD = 1.59; 95% CI, 0.30-2.89; P = .02) compared with PRP injection for rotator cuff lesions during the short-term follow-up period. However, at the medium-term and long-term follow-up, no statistically significant difference was identified between the 2 groups. Regarding the ROM of shoulder, no statistically significant difference was found between the 2 groups during the whole follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS The current clinical evidence revealed short-term efficacy of corticosteroid injection and no significant medium- to long-term difference between corticosteroid and PRP injection in the treatment of rotator cuff lesions. Additional studies with longer follow-ups, larger sample sizes, and more rigorous designs are needed to draw more reliable and accurate conclusions.
2.
Intra-articular injections of platelet-rich plasma, hyaluronic acid or corticosteroids for knee osteoarthritis : A prospective randomized controlled study
Huang Y, Liu X, Xu X, Liu J
Der Orthopade. 2019
Abstract
BACKGROUND Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a degenerative joint disease leading to pain and disability for which no curative treatment exists. Intra-articular (IA) therapies are part of this multimodal approach and are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), hyaluronic acid (HA), and corticosteroids (CS) have been increasingly used in recent years to treat KOA. PURPOSE To determine whether IA-PRP was superior to IA-HA or IA-CS administration routes in these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this trial the patients were randomized to IA-HA (2ml/week, for 3 weeks), IA-CS (1ml) or IA-PRP (3 times, 4ml, every 3 weeks) groups. The outcome was assessed using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) score prior to the first injection and then at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Pain was evaluated by a visual analogue scale (VAS) prior to treatment and after 12 months. RESULTS In this study 120 patients were randomized into 3 groups. There was a significant improvement in all scores (WOMAC, VAS) in each group compared to the pretreatment values (P< 0.05). The mean WOMAC scores for the IA-HA group from pretreatment to 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were 47.23+/- 5.37, 25.02+/- 4.98, 26.38+/- 5.20, 27.86+/- 4.34, and 30.64+/- 8.36, respectively. Similar improvements were noted in the IA-CS and IA-PRP groups. There were no significant differences in the WOMAC scores between the 3 groups 3 months after treatment (P> 0.05) but IA-PRP showed significantly lower scores 6, 9 and 12 months after treatment (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION Intra-articular PRP injections into the knee for symptomatic early stages of KOA are a valid treatment option. The clinical efficacy of IA-PRP is comparable to that of the IA-HA and IA-CS forms after 3 months and the long-term efficacy of IA PRP is superior to IA-HA and IA-CS.