Platelet-rich plasma for pilonidal disease: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective To examine the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for treatment of pilonidal disease (PD) and thus provide a reference for clinical application. Methods A systematic review of PubMed and the Cochrane Library was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. We considered all studies that reported the use of PRP for treatment of PD. Extracted data included the first author’s name, year of publication, study type, number of included patients, inclusion and exclusion criteria, interventions, anesthesia, application of PRP (source, preparation, dose, and operation), antibiotics, follow-up time, therapeutic outcomes, and adverse events. Results In total, eight randomized controlled trials and one prospective cohort study involving 809 patients were included. PRP reduced pain, accelerated healing, and reduced adverse events. The application of combined minimally invasive surgery achieved better results. However, overfilling of the wound with PRP in minimally invasive surgeries was shown to potentially increase the risk of adverse events. Conclusion PRP can be used as an adjuvant treatment in PD surgery to improve the therapeutic effect and reduce adverse events. The optimal combination of PRP and various factors is an important direction of future research. INPLASY registration number: INPLASY2023100070.