Platelet-rich plasma injections and its administration protocols on hip osteoarthritis treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

With this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to assess whether platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections led to significant improvements in both pain and function scores in patients diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis (HO). We also aimed to evaluate how improvements in the scores changed over the follow-up period. Finally, we sought to study how differences in PRP administration protocols affected the measured results. We performed a literature search on the 20th of September 2024, using the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the use of PRP injections for the treatment of symptomatic HO in patients with an age greater than 18 years. We excluded studies that only used PRP in combination with other co-adjuvant injectable therapies or surgery. Eight RCTs were included in this review, with a total population of 269 participants. PRP injections significantly reduced pain scores at all follow-up moments, and improved function scores at all moments except for the 12-month mark. Pain reduction was greater when no platelet activator was added, two or less injections were administered, the total dose was equal to or less than 12 ml, and leukocyte-poor PRP was used. There was a trend for more significant improvement in function when no platelet activator was added, three injections were administered, and the total dose was greater than 12 ml.