The effect of platelet-rich plasma in patients with early hip osteoarthritis: a pilot study

Abstract

Abstract We investigate whether platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections can improve symptoms and function in patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis (OA). Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed for all patients receiving PRP intra-articular hip injections between February 2017 and June 2017. The inclusion criteria were patients with a well-preserved joint space (Tönnis 0 or 1) whose magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings demonstrated degenerative joint disease or a Tönnis grade of 2. The patient-reported outcomes (PROs) used were the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip Outcome Score-Activities of Daily Living Subscale (HOS-ADL), Hip Outcome Score-Sports Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS), International Hip Outcome TOOL (iHOT-12), Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) and Mental and Physical aspects of the Veteran RAND 12 Item Health Survey (VR-12M and VR-12P). The visual analog scale (VAS) was utilized to indicate pain. Nine patients (11 hips) were eligible for inclusion. All PROs and VAS improved from pre- to post-injection. These improvements were present at the 3-month follow-up visit and stable until the 12-month follow-up. There was statistically significant improvement for mHHS (P < 0.001), HOS-ADL (P = 0.006), iHOT-12 (P = 0.003) and VR-12M (P = 0.005) at 12 months post-injection. Similarly, VAS improved from 4.1 to 2.3, although the change was not statistically significant. PRP injections significantly improved PROs in all measured scales at time points up to a year after intervention, except for VR-12P and HOS-SSS. In conclusion, patients with early OA of the hip had significant improvement of patient-reported functional outcomes up to 12 months after PRP intra-articular injections.