Study Combines Wearable Tech, PRP in Knee OA Patients

Noting that patient outcome data from treating osteoarthritis (OA) using leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma (LR-PRP) typically focuses on patient-reported (subjective) assessments of pain and joint function, a team from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas has published new work that takes a different slant on the issue: “Novel assessment of leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma on functional and patient-reported outcomes in knee osteoarthritis: a pilot study,” was published in the September 16, 2021 edition of Regenerative Medicine.

Bring in the Sensors

The pilot (prospective cohort) study enrolled 12 patients with knee OA who were treated with one ultrasound-guided leukocyte-rich PRP injection. The patients were fitted with wearable sensors so they could perform the timed up and go test, among others, thus providing objective measures of improvement.

“In the current study, we found that a single injection of LR-PRP into the knee does significantly improve functional mobility, pain and quality of life at six weeks,” Prathap Jayaram, M.D. said. “To our knowledge, our study is the first to report the efficacy of LR-PRP on objective functional outcomes using wearable sensor technology and validated patient-reported outcomes. Our findings provide the basis to conduct larger randomized clinical trials of PRP.”

OTW asked about other research on the same subject and Dr. Jayaram said, “There is a growing body of evidence to support this in both operative and non-operative spaces, most recently a double-blind randomized trial by McAlindon et al 2017 featured in JAMA.”