A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF EFFICACY AND OUTCOME ANALYSIS OF ROLE OF PRP INJECTION IN OSTEOARTHRITIS OF KNEE JOINT 40 CASES PROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is a progressive debilitation degenerative disease of the cartilage of the knee. In severe conditions, the patient is unable to do basic activities of daily living also. The pain associated with severe cartilage degeneration is excruciating. Platelet rich plasma being autologous in nature, the chances of disease transmission are also very less. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy in terms of pain relief and functional outcome of platelet rich plasma in patients with knee osteoarthritis with Kellgren-Lawrence Grade I, II and III. Material and Method: This study was conducted in the Department of Orthopedics, Arihant Hospital and Research Centre, Indore during the study period of 2 years. We included 29 patients with primary osteoarthritis of knee with age more than 35 years and who were willing to undergo this procedure. After preliminary evaluation of the knee with radiograph and confirming the fitness of the patient for the procedure, these patients were given injection of PRP and were instructed on post procedure precautions. The second injection was given at 3rd week and 3rd injection at 6th week, and these patients were followed up till 12 months. At each follow-up WOMAC score and VAS scores were evaluated. Pairedt test was applied to evaluate the change in mean WOMAC and VAS scores at each follow-up. A p value of < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Result and Conclusion: We had included 40 knees (29 patients) with a mean age of 55.89 ± 9.14 years. Female predominance was seen in our study (75.9%). Only Kellgren-Lawrence osteoarthritis grades I, II and III were included and Grade IV were excluded. The left knee involvement (52.5%) was slightly higher in comparison to the right knee. The mean WOMAC score preinjection was 75.65 ± 5.54, at 3 weeks it was 66.23 ± 6.95 and at 6 weeks and 43.93 ± 14.11 at 6 months. There was a significant improvement (P<0.05) in WOMAC scores over the follow-up till 6 months. The mean WOMAC score along with its 3 subscales showed significant deterioration at 12 months in comparison to 6 months, scores (P<0.05). Likewise, the mean VAS preinjection was 7.18 ± 0.93, which significantly decreased at postinjection (at 6 months) to 3.90 ± 1.19 (P<0.05), but by 12 months the mean VAS showed significant increase to 6.38 ± 1.01 (P<0.05). No major complications were noted, except for pain and swelling at the site of injection. These were managed conservatively and responded well to the given treatment.