Platelet-rich plasma: Clinical use in orthopedics

Abstract

The advances generated in the field of orthopedics, specifically in the treatment of soft-tissue injuries in the musculoskeletal system, have allowed a more favorable evolution and recovery in affected patients. The development and application of new biotechnologies, such as the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), have generated great interest in the area of regenerative medicine in the last decade. Being of biological origin, PRP has some advantages, one of the most important being its autologous origin, which prevents any adverse immune reaction in the patient. A disadvantage of PRP is the fact that its preparation requires obtaining a sample of blood from the patient. Furthermore, the processing of the sample usually takes between 30 and 45 min before it is ready for application. There is great inter-and intra-individual variation on platelet and leukocyte concentration obtained. As a result, efforts have been made to standardize the different formulations of PRP, using several classification scales. Multiple applications of this technology have been researched in the different areas of orthopedics; this review describes its use in some of the more frequent pathologies.