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The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the available Level I and Level II literature on platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a therapeutic intervention in the management of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA).A systematic review of Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and www.clinicaltrials.gov was performed to identify all randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies that evaluated the clinical efficacy of PRP versus a control injection for knee OA. A random-effects model was used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of PRP at 24 weeks by use of validated outcome measures (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, visual analog scale for pain, International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Evaluation Form, and overall patient satisfaction).Six Level I and II studies satisfied our inclusion criteria (4 randomized controlled trials and 2 prospective nonrandomized studies). A total of 577 patients were included, with 264 patients (45.8%) in the treatment group (PRP) and 313 patients (54.2%) in the control group (hyaluronic acid [HA] or normal saline solution [NS]). The mean age of patients receiving PRP was 56.1 years (51.5% male patients) compared with 57.1 years (49.5% male patients) for the group receiving HA or NS. Pooled results using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index scale (4 studies) showed that PRP was significantly better than HA or NS injections (mean difference, -18.0 [95% confidence interval, -28.8 to -8.3]; P.001). Similarly, the International Knee Documentation Committee scores (3 studies) favored PRP as a treatment modality (mean difference, 7.9 [95% confidence interval, 3.7 to 12.1]; P.001). There was no difference in the pooled results for visual analog scale score or overall patient satisfaction. Adverse events occurred more frequently in patients treated with PRP than in those treated with HA/placebo (8.4% v 3.8%, P = .002).As compared with HA or NS injection, multiple sequential intra-articular PRP injections may have beneficial effects in the treatment of adult patients with mild to moderate knee OA at approximately 6 months. There appears to be an increased incidence of nonspecific adverse events among patients treated with PRP.Level II, systematic review of Level I and II studies.

Purpose The objective of our study was to summarize the available clinical evidence pertaining to the combined arthroscopic Bankart repair and remplissage procedure (BRR) for the management of recurrent anterior glenohumeral instability. Methods We searched Medline (1946 to the third week of November, 2012), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase (1947 to the 50th week of 2012), and PubMed for studies that reported clinical outcome data at a minimum of 1 year after BRR. Two independent reviewers selected studies for inclusion, assessed methodological quality, and extracted relevant data. Clinical outcome data were pooled and summarized. Results Seven clinical studies with a total of 220 patients met the inclusion criteria. Mean patient age was 29 years and mean follow-up was 26 months. Among all studies, the pooled rate of recurrent dislocation after BRR was 3.4%. Compared with preoperative range of motion (ROM) and ROM after Bankart repair (BR) for similar pathologic conditions, there were no clinically significant losses in glenohumeral motion after BRR. Moreover, BRR resulted in favorable functional outcome scores and high patient satisfaction. Four studies reported on postoperative imaging and found high rates of healing and tissue fill-in at the site of infraspinatus tenodesis. Conclusions After BRR, the rate of recurrent dislocation is low and there are no clinically significant losses in glenohumeral ROM. Moreover, functional outcome scores are good and there is a high rate of patient satisfaction. Going forward, there is a need for high-level clinical studies to support the findings of this systematic review and to develop an evidence-based approach to the management of patients with recurrent glenohumeral instability in the setting of a Hill-Sachs defect (HSD). Level of Evidence Level IV, systematic review of Level II, III, and IV studies.