A Comparative Study of Intra-Articular Knee Injection of Leukocyte-Poor Platelet-Rich Plasma Compared to Corticosteroids and Local Anesthetics in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common reason for orthopedic secondary care referral. And it is one of the main causes of disability in adults worldwide. It is estimated to affect between 10 to 25% of patients over the age of 60. Intra-articular corticosteroid injection (IA CS) and physical therapy were the two choices in an attempt to provide symptomatic management or deferred surgery. There is a growing trend is intra-articular platelet-rich plasma (IA PRP) injection to reduce pain and improve function in OA patients. PRP is divided into two types: leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma (LP-PRP) and leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma (LR-PRP). It was shown that LR-PRP increases pro-inflammatory factors and also decreases anti-catabolic mediators, and LP-PRP has the opposite aspect.
Methods: In our research 40 patients were divided into two equal groups, IA corticosteroid and leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma (LP-PRP) 40 cc of blood from the basilic vein of the upper limb is used with two step centrifugation. The final samples were 4 millilitres product injected intra-articular. group two (corticosteroid (CS)) received an intra-articular injection of triamcinolone acetate (Kenalog) 40 mg/ml along with 4 ml of lidocaine 0.02% (Abureyhan Co.) for a total of 5 ml. The needle used is a 22-gauge pencil-point Quincke needle (Dr. Japan Co, Ltd), which is performed with the Sonosite Edge II ultrasound guide and in an anterior-lateral manner in the knee joint. Pain was assessed on a visual analogue scale (VAS range 0-10 points) before, one week, one month, two month and 3 months after the operation. The WOMAC questionnaire was also filled before injection and three months following injection and other variables were examined.
Results: There were no significant differences between the groups across all the baseline parameters including age, sex, body mass index and comorbidities including high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking. Both injection groups were effective in reducing patients' pain from one week to three months after injection. The level of pain in the first week after injection was significantly lower in the corticosteroid group than in the PRP group. In the first month and the third month after the injection, the pain reduction according to mean scores of VAS was the same in both groups.
Conclusion: In short, one injection of PRP can reduce the pain of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee as much as corticosteroids during a three-month treatment process. Considering the possible side effects of corticosteroids, this alternative treatment can be considered with further investigation.