Platelet-rich autologous plasma for the treatment of patientswith grade II osteoarthritis of the knee

Introduction There have not been highly effective and equally safe tools available to relieve pain and improve joint function in patients suffering from osteoarthritis.Purpose Explore the efficacy of intra-articular application of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of patients affected by grade 2 osteoarthritis of the knee. Materials and methods The study was designed as a single-arm prospective randomized trial. A total of 60 patients with grade 2 osteoarthritis according to the J. Kellgren and J. Lawrence grading scale (1957) were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into two clinical groups, with 30 subjects in each group. Index clinical group was treated using three 2 mL intra-articular applications of PRP performed once over a 3-week period. Control group was given three intra-articular injections of 2 mL hyaluronic acid (HA) applied once a week. Outcome measures included verbal rating scale of treatment effectiveness (VRSte), 100-point pain visual analogue scale (VAS), and Lequesne scale taken at 1-, 3-, 6- month follow-up. Results Measurement with VAS showed decrease in pain from 50.5 ± 5.38 to 9.8 ± 3.39 (р