Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid versus platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Platelet-rich plasma contains a variety of growth factors that can promote tissue repair and regeneration. Therefore, it has been gradually used in the clinical treatment of osteoarthritis. Sodium hyaluronate can improve inflammatory responses in synovial tissue, protect the articular cartilage, promote the healing and regeneration of articular cartilage, and relieve pain. OBJECTIVE: To compare the improvement of pain and function in knee osteoarthritis patients after treatment with platelet-rich plasma and sodium hyaluronate. METHODS: Patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to a platelet-rich plasma treatment group and a sodium hyaluronate treatment group. Patients in the platelet-rich plasma group received three injections of platelet-rich plasma via arthrocentesis within 21 days, and those in the sodium hyaluronate group received five injections of sodium hyaluronate via arthrocentesis within 35 days. Pain relief and functional improvement were assessed before and 2,4, 6 months after injection using the Visual Analogue Scale, the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome System, and the Hospital for Special Surgery scores. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: During the follow-up visit, 35 patients in the platelet-rich plasma group and 36 patients in the sodium hyaluronate group were enrolled in the result analysis. At the end of 6-month follow-up, pain and functional symptoms were certainly relieved in both two groups. For grade II knee osteoarthritis, platelet-rich plasma injection showed better outcomes than sodium hyaluronate injection. After first injection, the Visual Analogue Scale scores in the platelet-rich plasma group were lowered by 50% from the initial values. No significant differences in the Hospital for Special Surgery score were observed between the two groups at 2, 4, and 6 months after treatment (F>0.05). Therefore, platelet-rich plasma therapy is appropriate for low-grade knee osteoarthritis.