Is There a Need for an Exogenous Activator Along with PRP for Early Knee Osteoarthritis? A Triple-Blinded Randomized Control Trial.

Background: In addition to other variables associated with PRP injections for Knee Osteoarthritis (OA), some confusion exists about the role of exogenous activators. The current study looks at matched groups getting PRP injections with or without activator (Calcium gluconate) in early knee OA patients. Methods: Patients of early OA knee meeting inclusion criteria were randomly divided into 2 groups; Group A (43 patients) received 8 ml PRP injection alone, and Group B (48 patients) received 8 ml PRP along with 2 ml Calcium gluconate as activator. The patients were evaluated at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months for WOMAC Pain and Total WOMAC scores; secondary variables assessed were VAS score and patient satisfaction. Results: The baseline characteristics of both groups were comparable. Leucocyte-depleted PRP with 5 times concentration and average absolute platelet numbers of 7.144 billion per knee was injected. Mean Pain WOMAC scores decreased in both groups from baseline (group A-8.68, group B-9.09) to final follow-up (group A-4.67, group B-5.11). Similarly, Mean Total WOMAC scores decreased from baseline (group A-37.81, group B-37.41) to (group A-21, group B-21.36) at the final follow-up in both groups. There was no significant difference between both groups, and both showed similar trends. Similar findings were noted for VAS scores. Patient satisfaction was also not different (group A, 90.69%, group B, 89.58%) at the end of 6 months. Conclusion: Our study concluded doubtful role of adding exogenous activator to PRP preparation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-024-01159-7.