A study assessing intra-articular PRP vs PRP with HMW HA vs PRP with LMW HA in early knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

ObjectiveWe aim to study the effects of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and hyaluronic acid injections in treatment of early Osteoarthritis (OA). We assess which form of HA is most beneficial and whether combining PRP and HA have a better clinical outcome. DesignData: Cases diagnosed with early knee OA in the department of Orthopedic's, K. S. Hegde Medical Academy.Sample Size: Total 51 patients divided into 3 groups•Group 1: PRP group•Group 2: PRP with LMW HA•Group 3: PRP with HMW HAInclusion criteria•Pain or swelling of knee >4 months•Kellgren Lawrence 0-III on X-rayExclusion criteria•Kellgren-Lawrence >grade 3•Rheumatoid arthritis•Haematological diseases•Severe cardiovascular diseases•Infections•Diabetes Mellitus•Patients in therapy with anticoagulants or anti aggregants Study MethodPatients selected based on inclusion criteria and using block randomisation divided into a group. Pre injection visual analogue score (VAS) and International knee documentation committee score (IKDC) proforma are done. The decided injection is then performed and the patient followed up at 6 weeks and 6 months. StatisticsPaired T testOne way Anova and Posthoc testP=0.05 significant ResultsAll groups showed statistically significant decrease in VAS score and increase in IKDC scores with P<0.05. LMW+ PRP injection showed the greatest difference in IKDC and VAS scores though this difference was not statistically significant. ConclusionAll injections are a beneficial form of treatment. LMW HA + PRP is the most beneficial injection all though not statistically significant.