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Current Clinical Recommendations for Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma

  • Protein-Rich Plasma: From Bench to Treatment of Arthritis (S Choate and J Tokish, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review evaluates current clinical literature on the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), including leukocyte-rich PRP (LR-PRP) and leukocyte-poor PRP (LP-PRP), in order to develop evidence-based recommendations for various musculoskeletal indications.

Recent Findings

Abundant high-quality evidence supports the use of LR-PRP injection for lateral epicondylitis and LP-PRP for osteoarthritis of the knee. Moderate high-quality evidence supports the use of LR-PRP injection for patellar tendinopathy and of PRP injection for plantar fasciitis and donor site pain in patellar tendon graft BTB ACL reconstruction. There is insufficient evidence to routinely recommend PRP for rotator cuff tendinopathy, osteoarthritis of the hip, or high ankle sprains. Current evidence demonstrates a lack of efficacy of PRP for Achilles tendinopathy, muscle injuries, acute fracture or nonunion, surgical augmentation in rotator cuff repair, Achilles tendon repair, and ACL reconstruction.

Summary

PRP is a promising treatment for some musculoskeletal diseases; however, evidence of its efficacy has been highly variable depending on the specific indication. Additional high-quality clinical trials with longer follow-up will be critical in shaping our perspective of this treatment option.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Stanford University, 450 Broadway St, Redwood City, CA, USA

    Adrian D. K. Le, Lawrence Enweze, Malcolm R. DeBaun & Jason L. Dragoo

  2. Lifemark Health Group, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Adrian D. K. Le

Authors
  1. Adrian D. K. Le
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  2. Lawrence Enweze
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  3. Malcolm R. DeBaun
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  4. Jason L. Dragoo
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Correspondence to Jason L. Dragoo.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Dragoo reports consultancy for Ossur, Genzyme, Depuy/Mitek, Linvatec, Miximed, Zimmer, Harvet/Terumo, and Flexion Therapeutics, grants from Ossur, and educational funding from Linvatec, Smith and Nephew, Breg, and Ossur. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Protein-Rich Plasma: From Bench to Treatment of Arthritis

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Le, A.D.K., Enweze, L., DeBaun, M.R. et al. Current Clinical Recommendations for Use of Platelet-Rich Plasma. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 11, 624–634 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-018-9527-7

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