Single-dose intra-articular corticosteroid injection prior to platelet-rich plasma injection resulted in better clinical outcomes in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: The synergistic and protective effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) added to methlyprednisolone (MP) has been demonstrated via in-vitro studies. However, there is no report in the literature about this issue. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes of intra-articular (IA) MP injection prior to PRP injection in comparison with single-dose MP and PRP injections alone in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: The treatment groups were "PRP group" (n= 37) who underwent single-dose IA PRP injection, "PRP + MP group" (n= 40) who underwent MP injection one week prior to single-dose PRP injection, and "MP group" (n= 38) who underwent single-dose MP injection. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scores were applied at first admission and at 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 12th month follow-ups. RESULTS: At the end of the 1st month, WOMAC score in PRP + MP group was significantly lower than PRP group. At the 3rd month, WOMAC score in PRP + MP group was significantly lower than PRP and MP groups. At the 6th month, VAS and WOMAC score in PRP + MP group was significantly lower than MP group. At the end of the 12th month, no significant difference was observed among three groups in VAS and WOMAC scores. CONCLUSION: According to our results, IA MP injection prior to PRP injection resulted in significantly better clinical outcomes compared to PRP and MP injections alone in patients who had mild to moderate knee OA.