Do Blood Concentrates Influence Inflammatory Signs and Symptoms after Mandibular Third Molar Surgery? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

OBJECTIVES:To investigate, through a network meta-analysis, the effectiveness of blood concentrates in reducing pain perception, trismus, and edema after mandibular third molar extraction.MATERIALS AND METHODS:An electronic search was performed in nine databases to locate randomized clinical trials comparing blood concentrate use after mandibular third molar extraction. Two authors selected and extracted the data independently. The individual risk of bias in the studies was assessed with the RoB v2.0 tool. A network meta-analysis compared postoperative pain and trismus scores after applying different blood concentrates, using the mean difference (MD) as an effect estimate. The GRADE approach assessed the certainty of evidence.RESULTS:Thirty-one randomized clinical trials were included in the review and 18 in the meta-analysis. Leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) was the most used blood concentrate, followed by platelet-rich plasma (PRP). The network meta-analysis, depending on the analyzed period, evaluated up to 1240 surgeries. Among the analyzed blood concentrates, advanced platelet-rich fibrin (A-PRF) performed better among the analyzed blood concentrates, decreasing postoperative pain in 1, 2, 3, and 7 days and reducing trismus up to the inflammatory peak compared to blood clots. Only two studies had a low risk of bias.CONCLUSIONS:Based on very low certainty of evidence, using concentrates seemed efficient compared to blood clots in reducing pain and trismus after mandibular third molar surgeries. A-PRF decreased postoperative pain throughout the evaluated time and trismus during the acute inflammatory peak.CLINICAL RELEVANCE:A-PRF after mandibular third molar extractions performed better among the analyzed blood concentrates and seemed efficient in improving postoperative quality by decreasing inflammatory signs and symptoms.