Objective The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) application in arthroscopic repair of complete vertical tear of meniscus located in the red-white zone. Methods This single center, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm study included 37 patients with complete vertical meniscus tears. Patients received an intrarepair site injection of either PRP or sterile 0.9% saline during an index arthroscopy. The primary endpoint was the rate of meniscus healing in the two groups. The secondary endpoints were changes in the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and analog scale (VAS) in the two groups at 42 months. Results After 18 weeks, the meniscus healing rate was significantly higher in the PRP-treated group than in the control group (85% versus 47%, P = 0.048). Functional outcomes were significantly better 42 months after treatment than at baseline in both groups. The IKDC score, WOMAC, and KOOS were significantly better in the PRP-treated group than in the control group. No adverse events were reported during the study period. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that PRP augmentation in meniscus repair results in improvements in both meniscus healing and functional outcome.
Meniscal tears are the most common orthopaedic injuries, with chronic lesions comprising up to 56% of cases. In these situations, no benefit with surgical treatment is observed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous intrameniscal platelet rich plasma (PRP) application to complement repair of a chronic meniscal lesion. This single centre, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study included 72 patients. All subjects underwent meniscal trephination with or without concomitant PRP injection. Meniscal non-union observed in magnetic resonance arthrography or arthroscopy were considered as failures. Patient related outcome measures (PROMs) were assessed. The failure rate was significantly higher in the control group than in the PRP augmented group (70% vs. 48%, P = 0.04). Kaplan-Meyer analysis for arthroscopy-free survival showed significant reduction in the number of performed arthroscopies in the PRP augmented group. A notably higher percentage of patients treated with PRP achieved minimal clinically significant difference in visual analogue scale (VAS) and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) symptom scores. Our trial indicates that percutaneous meniscal trephination augmented with PRP results in a significant improvement in the rate of chronic meniscal tear healing and this procedure decreases the necessity for arthroscopy in the future (8% vs. 28%, P = 0.032).
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