Comparison of the short-term effect of intra-articular hyaluronic acid and platelet-rich plasma injections in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative joint diseases which involved all joints. It is very important to choose a treatment method with high efficiency to reduce the pain and disability of patients and also to improve their quality of life. The current study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of intra-articular injection of PRP and hyaluronic acid (HA) in the knee of people with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).

Methods: In this randomized clinical trial study, 90 patients with KOA were randomly divided into two groups of intra-articular HA and PRP. The patients of the two groups were followed up for five months and different outcomes were recorded. The McMaster index (WOMAC) evaluated all patients at rest and during movements. Measurements were taken at the beginning and after the third month of follow-up.

Results: Three month after the last injection (5th month) and after adjusting of baseline value using analysis of covariance, the mean of knee pain, stiffness, physical function and finally total score in the PRP group, was significantly lower than the HA group. Regarding the Osteoarthritis grade, the mean of knee pain, Stiffness, Physical function and finally total score in the PRP group was significantly lower than the HA group in all Osteoarthritis grades. Also, there were no complications in the studied groups.

Conclusions: The results of the current study showed that pain and stiffness reduction as well as physical function of the knee joint in the PRP group was better than in the HA group.