Platelet-Rich Plasma for Sport-Active Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: Limited Return to Sport

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate a cohort of sport-active patients suffering from cartilage degeneration and OA, in terms of clinical outcome and return to sport (RTS) after platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injective treatment. Design. is study included forty-seven sport-active patients ≤50 years old with unilateral symptomatic knee cartilage degeneration or OA. Patients received 3 PRP injections and were prospectively evaluated at baseline and then at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months follow-up by IKDC subjective EQ-VAS, and Tegner scores. Furthermore, patients were asked about their RTS, in terms of return to any sport level or to their activity level before symptoms onset. Results. IKDC subjective score improved significantly at all follow-ups, changing from 59.2 ± 13.6 to 70.6 ± 13 at 12 months and to 76.7 ± 12.5 at 24 months (p < 0.0005). A similar outcome was observed with the EQ-VAS score. Tegner score improved from 3.6 ± 1.4 to 4.8 ± 0.9 at 24 months (p < 0.0005), but only 76.6% of patients returned to some sport activity and 48.9% to the same activity level. A lower presymptoms Tegner score was associated with a higher RTS rate, both at any level (p � 0.024) and at the same presymptoms level (p < 0.0005). Conclusions. Sport-active patients affected by knee OA can benefit from PRP injections, with pain and function improvement over time. However, results are less satisfactory in terms of RTS since only half can achieve the same sport level as before the onset of symptoms. Patients undergoing PRP treatment should be made aware of their low chances to go back to high-impact sport activities.

Autologous Platelet- and Extracellular Vesicle-Rich Plasma Is an Effective Treatment Modality for Chronic Postoperative Temporal Bone Cavity Inflammation: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

“…This trial may indicate long-term effects of PVRP-based treatment of CPTBCI according to the absence of symptoms in most patients for many months after the last (i.e., fourth) checkup of the treatment regime (Figure 4C). This corresponds to the long-term effects of platelet-rich preparations described by Altamura et al (2020). No PVRP-related adverse events were detected in this trial, which is consistent with the findings of low adverse events rate in the meta-analysis of Wang et al (2019).…”

Minimal Clinically Important Difference and Patient Acceptable Symptom State in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis Treated With PRP Injection

“…The KOOS is one of the most used scores for knee OA, and although more commonly indicated for cartilage lesions, the IKDC score is also often used for knee OA, especially when investigating younger and active populations. 1 Thus, the MCID and PASS of both scores may prove useful to further understand response to treatment in this field.…”

Leukocyte-Rich versus Leukocyte-Poor Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Double-Blind Randomized Trial

“…The safety and effectiveness of PRP for knee OA treatment have been supported by several clinical studies, yielding satisfactory results in terms of functional improvement and reduction of pain-related symptoms up to 12 months, especially in young patients and during the early stages of OA. 2,15,16,18,39 Nevertheless, despite the large number of trials in favor of PRP, its use is not yet recommended by the principal guidelines for the management of knee OA. 6,10,24 This is likely related to the lack of a standardized protocol and to the availability of countless PRP preparation methods, which can yield products with different characteristics.…”