Sheikh Forhad^1,, Erfanul Huq Siddiqui¹, Md. Shamsul Alam², Anjumun Ara³, Jannat Sultana⁴

Background: Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is known as autologous conditioned plasma is a concentrate of platelet-rich plasma protein derived from whole blood, centrifuged to remove red blood cells. Now it is used in treating OA. We have very few data regarding this issue. The aim of this study was to assess the role of platelet-rich plasma in osteoarthritis of knee-joint. Materials and methods: This was a prospective observational study which was conducted at the Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from January 2018 to December 2018. In total 89 patients, diagnosed with grade I and II arthritis were included in this study as the study population. To all the participants three PRP injections were injected in the knees at 4-week interval. Patients were followed up and were assessed for pain and physical activity associated with arthritis using the Western Ontario and McMaster University Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score at the time of induction in the study and at 6 months interval. Results: The mean (±SD) WOMAC score of the participants was 82.94 (±5.12) at the baseline whereas it was found 37.87 (±4.73) at the follow up period after 6 months. After 6 months the mean (±SD) WOMAC score of male participants was found 36.93 (±5.71) and it was found 38.87 (±5.39) among female participants. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.021). Besides this, after 6 months the mean (±SD) WOMAC score of Kellgren–Lawrence grade-1 participants was 37.68 (±5.44) and it was found 40.13 (±5.01) among Kellgren–Lawrence grade-2 participants. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.002). Moreover, after 6 months the mean (±SD) WOMAC score of participants with ≤2 years duration of symptoms was 37.95 (±5.37) and it was found 41.66 (±4.28) among participants with >2 years duration of symptoms. This difference was extremely statistically significant. Conclusions: The proper sequential use of PRP injection for the treatment of osteoarthritis of knee-joint proved to be effective in our study. We recommend its wide use in the treatment of osteoarthritis of knee-joint.

osteoarthritis, Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), knee joint, orthopedics