Comparative Effect between Infiltration of Platelet-rich Plasma and the Use of Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective and Randomized Clinical Trial

Marianna Ribeiro de Menezes Freire; Philippe Mota Coutinho da Silva; Arthur Rangel Azevedo; Denison Santos Silva; Ronald Bispo Barreto da Silva; Juliana Cordeiro Cardoso

doi:10.1016/j.rbo.2018.01.001

Comparative Effect between Infiltration of Platelet-rich Plasma and the Use of Corticosteroids in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective and Randomized Clinical Trial

Rev Bras Ortop (Sao Paulo). 2020 Oct;55(5):551-556. doi: 10.1016/j.rbo.2018.01.001. Epub 2020 Feb 3.

Authors

Marianna Ribeiro de Menezes Freire¹, Philippe Mota Coutinho da Silva¹, Arthur Rangel Azevedo², Denison Santos Silva³, Ronald Bispo Barreto da Silva³, Juliana Cordeiro Cardoso³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Tiradentes (Unitmed), Aracaju, SE, Brazil.
² Instituto de Assistência Médica ao Servidor Público Estadual de São Paulo (Iamspe), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
³ Universidade Tiradentes (Unitmed), Aracaju, SE, Brazil.

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma obtained from the peripheral, autologous blood of the patients in pain complaints reduction and functional improvement of knee osteoarthritis compared with the standard treatment with injectable corticosteroid, such as triamcinolone. Methods The patients were followed-up clinically at the preinfiltrative visit, with quantitative evaluation using the Knee Society Score (KSS), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, and the Kellgren and Lawrence scales. In addition, they were reevaluated with the same scales after 1 month and 6 months of intervention with 2.5 mL of triamcinolone acetate or 5 mL of platelet-rich plasma. The study was performed on 50 patients with knee osteoarthritis treated at the Medical Specialty Center and randomly divided into equivalent samples for each therapy. Results The present study verified the reduction of pain scores, such as the WOMAC score, and elevations of functional scales, such as the KSS, evidenced in 180 days when using platelet-rich plasma, a therapy that uses the autologous blood of the patient and has fewer side effects. Conclusion Although both platelet-rich plasma and corticosteroid therapies have been shown to be effective in the reduction pain complaints and functional recovery, there was a statistically significant difference between them at 180 days. According to the results obtained, platelet-rich plasma presented longer-lasting effects within 180 days in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

Keywords: corticosteroids; osteoarthritis; platelet-rich plasma.

The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).