Effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma injection in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection after arthrocentesis or arthroscopy in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

STUDY DESIGN: Electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library) were searched for reports up to July 30, 2018. We included all published or unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The primary outcome was pain reduction, and the secondary outcome was the improvement of maximal mouth opening. Weighted mean differences were utilized for random-effect meta-analysis.

RESULTS: Five RCTs were enrolled in the meta-analysis, comparing PRP injection to placebo (hyaluronic acid [HA] injection, saline injection, or no injection). The results revealed that PRP injection was more effective than placebo in pain reduction, but no in the improvement of maximal mouth opening, in the long term. In the subgroup analysis, PRP injection yielded better outcome only in pain reduction comparing to HA injection (Weighted mean difference 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95-1.73).

CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrated that PRP injection provided adjuvant efficacy to arthrocentesis or arthroscopy in pain reduction for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis in the long term. Furthermore, PRP injection significantly reduced pain better compared with HA injection, saline injection, or no injection.