Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29921309›Full record

SynthesisArthritis research & therapy2018

Is local platelet-rich plasma injection clinically superior to hyaluronic acid for treatment of knee osteoarthritis? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Yalong Di, Changxu Han, Liang Zhao, Yizhong Ren

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Arthritis research & therapy, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
12.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Spin and reporting bias in the use of platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2025
    Review
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  11. Is platelet-rich plasma better than hyaluronic acid in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Wideochirurgia i inne techniki maloinwazyjne = Videosurgery and other miniinvasive techniques · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Yalong DiDepartment of Medical Imaging, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, 050051, China.
Changxu HanDepartment of Sports Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhehaote, 010030, China.
Liang ZhaoDepartment of Sports Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhehaote, 010030, China.
Yizhong RenDepartment of Sports Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhehaote, 010030, China. 270397188@qq.com.
Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University · CNHebei General Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn this study, we evaluated whether platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is superior to hyaluronic acid (HA) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

methodsThe Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and Embase databases were searched for English-language, human in vivo studies on the treatment of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis with intra-articular PRP compared with HA. The following keywords were used for the search: "platelet-rich plasma," "PRP," "platelet-rich fibrin," "PRF," "platelet," "plasma," "arthritis," "osteoarthritis," "gonarthrosis," and "degeneration."

resultsSeven articles reporting 908 patients and 908 knees were analyzed, including 44% men and 56% women with a mean age of 59.8 years. All studies met the minimal clinically important difference criteria and showed statistically significant improvements in clinical outcomes, including pain, physical function, and stiffness, with PRP treatment. All except two studies showed significant differences between PRP and HA regarding clinical outcomes of pain and function.

conclusionsPRP intra-articular injection of the knee may be an effective alternative treatment for knee OA, especially in patients with mild knee OA. Although some studies suggested that the effect of PRP was no better than HA, we found that it was no worse. A large, multicenter, randomized trial is needed to further assess the efficacy of PRP treatment for patients with knee OA.

trial registrationPROSPERO, CRD42016048394 . Registered on October 2, 2016).

Indexed as

Platelet-Rich PlasmaFemaleHumansHyaluronic AcidInjections, Intra-ArticularMaleMiddle AgedOsteoarthritis, KneePain MeasurementRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicHyaluronic AcidHyaluronic acidKneeOsteoarthritisPlatelet-rich plasma

Identifiers

PMID29921309
PMCPMC6008940
OpenAlexW2809542996

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.