European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background:Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease characterized by joint
damage, inadequate healing response, and progressive deterioration of joint structure,
often affecting the knee and / or hip joint. PRP is an autologous preparation containing
concentrated bioactive factors4. It is easily derived from the blood by the simple
technique of centrifugation.
Materials and Methods: 100 patients presenting to the Orthopedics outpatient
department with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis of grade 1-3 of Kellgren-Lawrence
classification6 were selected for the study according to inclusion and exclusion criteria,
out of which 20 patients lost to follow up, so 80 patients included in this study. All 80
patients were subjected to Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis
Index Score (WOMAC) for pain evaluation and functional outcome.
Results: At pre-treatment, the mean WOMAC score was lowest in grade 1 patients
while it was highest in grade 3 patients. In post-treatment evaluation, the mean
WOMAC scores obtained in grade 1 and grade 2 patients showed a reducing trend at
each follow-up visit. Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1 values reduced from 76.269 at pretreatment
evaluation to 38.423 after 12 months of treatment. Similarly, in grade 2
patients, the mean WOMAC reduced from 77.830 at pre-treatment to 47.617 after 12
months. This signified an improvement observed in the patients’ symptomatology.
However, no such decline was seen in the mean WOMAC scores of grade 3 patients.
The pre-treatment 78.143 and post-treatment 78.000 values remained almost the
same.The results obtained concluded that injection of autologous PRP is indeed an
effective treatment modality for Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1 and grade 2 osteoarthritis
at least for the 12 months, and had satisfactory effects in reducing pain and stiffness, as
well as in restoring joint function. In advanced stages (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 3) of
the disease, not much improvement was seen even after PRP therapy.