Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Introduction: Knee cartilage, a sort of hyaline cartilages known for its unique properties, enables almost frictionless joint movement and protects the underlying bone from excessive load and trauma by dissipating the forces produced during movement. However, cartilage has limited intrinsic healing potential because it is avascular and has few specialized cells with a low mitotic activity. Aim: the aim of the study is to compare results after intra-articular injections of either platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or Hyaluronic Acid (HA) to treat knee osteoarthritis. Subjects and methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial including fifty patients suffering from knee OA. Patients were randomly assigned to receive PRP or HA. Intra-articular injection was given in two doses at 4-week interval in the PRP group (n = 25) and three doses of intra-articular injection at 1-week interval in between in the HA group (n = 25). All patients were evaluated before and at 6 months after treatment by International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score and imaging. Results: The mean Post-injection IKDC subjective score were 64.08±3.22 and 63.84±3.35 in PRP and HA group, respectively with no statistically significant difference (p=0.798). Post-injection cartilage thickness was 2.11±0.9 and 2.09±0.8 in PRP and HA group, respectively with no statistically significant difference (p=0.061)

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