Efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of CTS by meta-analysis.

METHODS

Wanfang database, CNKI, VIP database, China Biological Literature Database, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane were searched for RCTS about PRP in the treatment of patients with CTS published up to October 2024. The PRP treatment group was treated with PRP on the basis of conventional treatment for CTS. The control group was treated with conventional conservative treatment of CTS. The main evaluation index of meta-analysis was BCTQ severity score. The secondary outcome measures were cross-sectional area of the median nerve, SNCV, DML, and VAS of pain.

RESULTS

A total of 7 studies involving 365 patients were included in this meta-analysis. There were 183 patients in PRP group and 182 patients in control group. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with the conventional treatment group, the PRP group had significant reductions in the symptom severity scale at 1, 3, and 6 months and the functional status scale at 3 and 6 months (P < .05). Compared with the conventional treatment group, PRP group increased the cross-sectional area of median nerve at 1 month but decreased the cross-sectional area of median nerve at 3 and 6 months, and the differences were not statistically significant (P > .05). The Sensory nerve conduction velocity of PRP treatment group was lower than that of conventional control group at 1 (P < .0001), 3 (P = .35) and 6 (P = .69) months after treatment. Compared with the conventional treatment group, the PRP treatment group increased distal motor latency at 1, 3, and 6 months, but the difference was not statistically significant. Compared with the conventional control group, the PRP treatment group decreased the visual analogue scale of pain at 1 (P = .56) and 3 (P = .02) months. There were no serious adverse reactions after PRP treatment in the 4 studies which recorded adverse reactions.

CONCLUSION

PRP is a safe and effective treatment for patients with CTS. PRP can improve the subjective efficacy of patients with CTS but has little effect on the cross-sectional area of median nerve, SNCV, and DML.