Efficiency and clinical outcomes of platelet-rich plasma therapy on canine coxofemoral osteoarthritis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to find out the optimal technique to prepare plasma with the highest plateletconcentration in platelet rich plasma (PRP), as well as determine the result of autologous PRP from the dogs withosteoarthritis (OA) condition. It was shown that the PRP could reduce inflammation, cell regeneration and enhanceangiogenesis to support the injured tissue. This study was composed of two phases; the first phase aimed to find thebest centrifugation speed and time that could be able to produce the plasma with the highest platelet concentration byconducting the experiment from a total of 6 healthy dogs without OA condition, which was verified by physicalexaminations and blood tests. The blood from these dogs was collected with Arthrex® Double syringe. In the secondphase, a total of 9 dogs with OA condition in both sides of coxofemoral were used to perform the experiment byintraarticular PRP injection. In addition, a video double blinded clinical evaluation on a pre- and a post-PRP injectionstate were performed, which was evaluated by radiographic findings, lameness score, kinematic dataanalysis (Kinovea®), and owner questionnaire (CBPI/LOAD) at the day before PRP and post-PRP injection at 8 weeks.The PRP would be processed by using the centrifugation speed and time results in the first phase. The result of thefirst phase indicated that using 1,500 rpm centrifugation speed for 3 min given the highest platelet concentration andsignificant in terms of statistics (P = 0.028), and the result of the second phase revealed that lameness score (P =0.031), kinematic data analysis (P = 0.035), and the owner questionnaire (P = 0.016) post-PRP injection at 8 weekswere resulted in significantly improved in terms of statistics. However, there was no significant improvement inthe results of the radiographic findings (P = 1.000). In conclusion, this study evaluated the optimal PRP preparationtechnique and its short-term clinical outcomes in dogs with coxofemoral osteoarthritis. Phase I identified 1,500 rpmfor 3 min as the most effective centrifugation setting for achieving high platelet concentration using a steriledouble syringe system. In Phase II, intra-articular PRP injection led to significant improvements in lameness scores,hip joint mobility, and owner-reported pain levels over an 8-week period, with no adverse effects observed.However, radiographic changes were not detected, and the long-term efficacy and safety remain unknown.Further research is needed to assess PRP’s sustained benefits, optimal dosing frequency, and potential side effects.