Role of platelet rich plasma in management of early knee osteoarthritis pain: A retrospective observational study

Knee joint osteoarthritis is a well-known cause of pain and disability in patients above 40 years of age. It is treated by use of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, physiotherapy with limited success. The platelet rich plasma (PRP) contains a large amount of platelet derived growth factors, cytokines and anti-inflammatory molecules which showed promising results in recent studies to relieve pain of knee joint osteoarthritis. The present study aims to determine the efficacy of intraarticular PRP for pain relief and functional improvement in patients with early knee joint osteoarthritis. It is a retrospective observation study involving patients who underwent single intraarticular administration of PRP for knee pain with Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grades I or II knee joint osteoarthritis. The Visual analogue scale (VAS) score and Oxford knee score (OKS) were recorded pre-procedure and at 1- and 6-month post-procedure. A total of 31 patients (20 females, 11 males) underwent PRP therapy for knee pain (16 kL grade I, 15 kL grade II). The mean age and duration of symptoms were of 53.9 years (range: 79-42 years) and 5.53 ± 2.35 years respectively. There was a significant reduction (p