ENHANCING MICROFRACTURE TREATMENT FOR CHONDRAL LESIONS WITH PLATELET-RICH PLASMA: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Chondral lesions are more often found in patients with knee pain, either from normal wear and tear or due to traumatic events.The treatment for this condition is still debatable, depending on the type of the lesion, age, or other comorbidities.Microfractures alone or enhanced with other biological agents, like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC), are a convenient solution, often used, with different results offered by other studies.We evaluated 24 patients presenting chondral lesions Outerbridge grades 3 and 4 who were treated with microfractures alone or enhanced by PRP using scores from the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) and VAS (visual analogue score).Evaluation was performed at admission, at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year.Results show improvement in time for both groups.Patients treated with microfractures and PRP have significantly higher IKDC scores at all three moments.This means the overall quality improved after the treatment with microfractures and PRP compared with the group that received only the microfractures.Patients treated only with microfractures had significantly higher VAS scores compared with the other group, meaning higher residual pain.Our results suggest that enhancing microfractures with PRP injections is better than microfractures alone. RezumatLeziunile condrale sunt frecvent ntlnite la pacienii cu dureri de genunchi, fie ca urmare a uzurii normale, fie din cauza unor traumatisme.Tratamentul acestei afeciuni este nc un subiect de dezbatere, fiind influenat de tipul leziunii, vrsta pacientului i prezena altor comorbiditi.Microfracturile, utilizate fie ca atare, fie n combinaie cu soluii biologice precum plasma bogat n trombocite (PRP) sau concentratul de aspirat medular (BMAC), reprezint o opiune frecvent aleas, dei studiile existente raporteaz rezultate variabile.n acest studiu, am evaluat 24 de pacieni cu leziuni condrale de gradul 3 i 4 conform clasificrii Outerbridge, tratai fie prin microfracturi simple, fie prin microfracturi combinate cu PRP.Evoluia pacienilor a fost monitorizat utiliznd scorurile IKDC (International Knee Documentation Committee) i VAS (Visual Analog Scale) la momentul internrii, precum i la 3 luni, 6 luni i 1 an post-tratament.Rezultatele indic o mbuntire progresiv n ambele grupuri.Cu toate acestea, pacienii care au beneficiat de microfracturi asociate cu PRP au nregistrat scoruri IKDC semnificativ mai mari la toate momentele de evaluare, sugernd o recuperare mai bun comparativ cu cei care au primit doar microfracturi.n plus, pacienii tratai exclusiv prin microfracturi au raportat scoruri VAS mai ridicate, ceea ce indic o durere rezidual mai mare.n concluzie, adugarea injeciilor PRP la tratamentul cu microfracturi ofer rezultate superioare fa de microfracturile singure, att n ceea ce privete funcionalitatea genunchiului, ct i reducerea durerii.