Platelet-Rich Plasma Intra-Articular Injection in Treating Hemophilic Arthropathy

Severe hemophilia is characterized by frequent and lifelong bleeding, with more than 60% of bleeds occurring into joints . Repeated joint bleeding leads to chronic synovitis, cartilage damage and bony destruction. Currently available treatment of hemophilic arthropathy, such as analgesics, NSAIDs, and hyaluronic acid (HA), are predominantly directed toward the symptomatic relief of pain and inflammation, but they do little to reduce joint cartilage degeneration. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) is a simple and minimally invasive method that provides a natural concentrate of autologous growth factors from the blood. This method is now being increasingly applied in clinical practice to treat musculoskeletal disorders, such as tendon repairment and osteoarthritis. To the best of our knowledge, no study applies PRP for arthropathy of knee joint in hemophilia patients. The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy, safety and duration of benefit of single PRP injection versus five weekly intra-articular injections of HA in patients with hemophilic arthropathy of knee.