19 (95% CI, .85–1.66) compared with HA administration, indicating no significant difference between the regimens in eliciting postinjection discomfort. Asymmetry was observed Epigenetics Compound Library in the funnel plots based on the effect sizes of changes in the functional scales from baseline in the PRP group (fig 5). P values, determined by using a Begg’s test, were .028 at 2 months, .017 at 6 months, and .84 at 12 months, which indicated the existence of significant publication bias regarding the measured outcome at 2 and 6 months. The current meta-analysis comparing the

conditions of patients with knee degenerative pathology before and after treatment with PRP injections showed a continual efficacy for at least 12 months. Compared with patients receiving HA, those in the PRP group exhibited better and prolonged beneficial effects, and the advantages remained after excluding single-arm and quasi-experimental trials. Injection doses ≤2, the use of a single-spinning approach, and lack of activation agents led to an uncertainty

of the treatment effectiveness. Furthermore, patients with a lower degree of cartilage degeneration achieved superior results compared with those with advanced OA. Finally, PRP treatment did not elicit a higher risk of adverse reactions relative to HA administration. Selleck STA-9090 Four meta-analytic research articles investigating the efficacy of PRP in the treatment of

orthopedic disorders have been recently published. Krogh et al8 compared a variety of injection therapies for lateral epicondylitis and found that PRP administration was significantly superior to placebo for pain relief. Chahal12 and Zang10 and colleagues reviewed studies comprising participants with full-thickness rotator cuff tendon tears who were treated with arthroscopic repair with or without concomitant PRP supplementation, and they failed to demonstrate a benefit of additional PRP in reducing overall retear for rates and improving shoulder-specific outcomes. Sheath et al11 compared PRP interventions with control interventions in various orthopedic conditions such as anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, spinal fusion, total knee arthroplasty, humeral epicondylitis, and Achilles’ tendinopathy, and they concluded that the available evidence was insufficient to support PRP as a treatment option for orthopedic or soft tissue injuries. To our knowledge, none of these meta-analyses targeted the issue of PRP prescription for knee degenerative lesions. A focused review13 of PRP for the treatment of cartilage pathology has recently been published and did not favor PRP as a first-line treatment for moderate to severe knee OA. However, a quantitative analysis in terms of potential symptom-relieving and disease-modifying effects is still deficient.