Evidence-based indications of platelet-rich plasma therapy

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous blood-derived product that contains platelet concentrations at least 2/3 times above the normal level and includes platelet-related growth factors. The concept of PRP began in the 1970s in the field of hematology to treat patients with thrombocytopenia. In the 1980s and 1990s, PRP began to be used in surgical procedures such as maxillofacial surgery and plastic surgery. Since then, PRP had been used in orthopedic procedures, cardiac surgery, sports injuries, plastic surgery, gynecology, urology, and more recently in medical esthetics.

Areas covered: This review analyzes the mechanisms of action, current indications, clinical evidence, safety and future directions of PRP in the management of various medical conditions. The literature search methodology included using medical subject headings terms to search in PubMed. Articles used were screened and critically appraised by the coauthors of this review.

Expert Opinion: Platelet-rich plasma is a therapeutic option used to treat many medical conditions. PRP could be used alone or in combination with other procedures. The effectiveness and safety of PRP has been demonstrated in many medical scenarios, however there is limited availability of large randomized clinical trials.

KEYWORDS:

• Esthetics
• hematology
• mechanism of action
• platelet-rich plasma
• surgery

Article highlight box

• PRP is an effective technology that is used for a diverse number of medical conditions.

• The current research surrounding PRP therapy has significant limitations in terms of article bias, lack of standardization in preparation, and not enough multi-centered randomized large clinical trials.

• PRP has shown potential benefit for certain clinical indications, specifically for wound healing.

• Because PRP is biologically unique to different people, it is difficult to ascertain the true efficacy of the therapy.

• More research needs to be done before PRP therapy can become a new standard of care for certain indications.

• More focus needs to be put on developing methods to standardize PRP preparation and administration to determine true efficacy.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.