Single Shot of Knee Intraarticular Injection of Platelets Rich Plasma versus Hyaluronic Acid Injections for Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis. An Observational Prospective Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intra-articular PRP and HA in KOA patients. Methods: The current work was prospective randomized observational. Participants were divided into two groups. Group 1; 1 intra-articular PRP injection (15 mL) in 72 patients and Group 2; A single intra-articular injection of HA (80 mg/4 mL) was administered to 72 patients. All patients were evaluated before infiltration and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after injection. Results: No significant difference was detected in the demographic distribution (gender and age) and Grade RT, Grade RL, Grade II OA and Grade III OA classifications of patients who received intra-articular PRP or HA injection for knee OA (p>0.05). Compared with the HA group WOMAC mean of 48.8 and p<0.05, there was no significant change in the PRP groups with the WOMAC mean of 68.9. At month 3, each group had significantly reduced overall WOMAC score compared to baselines in both groups. The mean WOMAC was 48.2 in the HA and 47.9 in the PRP group (P<0.001). At 6 months, the average WOMAC score of the PRP group was 39.4, while this rate was 56.3 in the HA group (P<0.001). The PRP group showed a steady improvement, while those treated with HA showed a rapid deterioration. At 12 months, the HA group's WOMAC scores (74.1) returned to baseline levels. The mean WOMAC of the PRP group was (58.9) (P<0.001). Conclusion: The overall PRP improvement outweighs HA injections