Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32060630›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie2020

Is platelet-rich plasma effective for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis? A systematic review and meta-analysis of level 1 and 2 randomized controlled trials.

Erik Hohmann, Kevin Tetsworth, Vaida Glatt

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
54citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
13.5field-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

54 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.

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  12. 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
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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

3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Erik HohmannFaculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. ehohmann@houstonmethodist.org.
Kevin TetsworthDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Herston, Australia.
Vaida GlattOrthopaedic Research Centre of Australia, Brisbane, Australia.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio · USUniversity of Pretoria · ZAUniversity of Queensland · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing intra-articular knee injection of PRP and hyaluronic acid and investigate clinical outcomes and pain at both 6 and 12 months.

methodsA systematic review of Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar was performed in the English and German literature reporting on intra-articular knee injections for knee osteoarthritis. All level 1 and 2 studies with a minimum of 6-month follow-up in patients with knee osteoarthritis from 2010 to 2019 were included. Clinical outcome was assessed by WOMAC and IKDC scores and pain by VAS and WOMAC pain scores. Subgroup analysis for autologous platelet-rich plasma (ACP) was performed. Publication bias and risk of bias were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tools. The GRADE system was used to assess the quality of the body of evidence. Heterogeneity was assessed using χ

resultsTwelve studies (1,248 cases; 636 PRP, 612 HA) met the eligibility criteria. The pooled estimate demonstrated non-significant differences between PRP and HA for clinical outcomes at 6 months (p = 0.069) and at 12 months (p = 0.188). However, the pooled estimate for pain did demonstrate significant differences in favour of PRP at 6 months (p = 0.001) and 12 months (p = 0.001). For the ACP subgroup (249 cases), the pooled estimate for these studies demonstrated significant differences in favour of PRP (p < 0.0001) at 6 months.

conclusionThe results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that PRP is superior to HA for symptomatic knee pain at 6 and 12 months. ACP appears to be clearly superior over HA for pain at both 6 and 12 months. There were no advantages of PRP over HA for clinical outcomes at both 6 and 12 months. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2; systematic review and meta-analysis.

Indexed as

Platelet-Rich PlasmaHumansHyaluronic AcidOsteoarthritis, KneeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment OutcomeViscosupplementsHyaluronic AcidViscosupplementsAutologous conditioned plasma (ACP)Hyaluronic acidKnee osteoarthritisKnee painMeta-analysisPlatelet-rich plasmaPRPSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID32060630
OpenAlexW3006030821

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.