Effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Recently, a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have researched the efficacy of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) combined with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Therefore, we updated a systematic review based on these RCTs to evaluate the effects of PRP on knee function and pain with different time.Methods: We searched in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science(WOS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), and WANFANG DATABASE, for human RCTs comparing the efficacy of intraarticular injection with no injection of PRP. Descriptive summaries and quality assessments were performed for all studies included in this meta-analysis. The outcomes of the stydy included the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and Lysholm score.Results: Finally, we included 6 RCTs stydies, involving 315 patients. The control group consisted of blank group or placebo group. Follow-up periods ranged from 3 to 18 months. The results of bias risk assessment showed that all the 6 stuydies are unclear risk of bias. Compared with the control group, PRP group significantly improved IKDC score at 3, 6 and 12 months after operation (P = 0.00, 0.01, respectively). Lysholm score and VAS score also has significant differences at 3 months after operation (both P = 0.00).Conclusion: Our study has proved that PRP was more effective in the recovery of knee function and early pain relief after the ACLR than the ACLR alone. Review registration: PROSPERO CRD42021224182. Registered 6 April 2021. Keywords:anterior cruciate ligament injury; anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction; platelet rich plasma; system review; META analysisReview registration: PROSPERO CRD42021224182. Registered 6 April 2021.