Acute Achilles tendon rupture is an injury in the back of your lower leg. Platelet-rich plasma comprises whole blood products and is used in musculoskeletal, orthopedic medicine. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma injection for acute Achilles tendon rupture (AATR).
This is a randomized, two-arm, parallel-group, two-arm, placebo-controlled study conducted across 19 hospitals in the UK’s health service. The research includes 230 adults aged 18 and more with acute Achilles tendon rupture. The participants were equally divided into two groups and randomly assigned platelet-rich plasma (n=114) and placebo (n=116). The primary outcome was restored muscle-tendon functionality at 24 weeks. The secondary results were quality of life, pain, and occurrence of adverse events.
The median age of the participants was 46 years. At a follow-up, after 24 weeks, a total of 216 patients reported outcomes. No significant difference was identified in muscle-tendon functionality between participants in the platelet-rich plasma and placebo group. There was no significant difference in secondary outcomes, including goal attainment, quality of life, and adverse events.
The research concluded that injections of platelet-rich plasma did not improve muscle-tendon function or patient-reported function. There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes either, indicating no positive associations between platelet-rich plasma injection and improvement in AATR.
Ref: https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6132
