Platelet-rich plasma more effective for treatment of chronic hip bursitis than cortisone, study finds

Platelet-rich plasma showed clinical superiority over cortisone for patients who received treatment for chronic hip bursitis, according to data presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedics Surgeons Annual Meeting.

“Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection is significantly more effective and durable than cortisone injection for the treatment of severe chronic greater trochanteric bursitis refractory to traditional nonoperative management,” Raymond R. Monto, MD, write in the abstract.

Monto and colleagues evaluated 40 patients with chronic hip bursitis who had at least 6 months of traditional nonoperative treatment fail. Patients were randomized into two groups. Patients in the first group were treated with a 40-mg injection of methylprednisolone, and the second group of patients received a single injection of autologous PRP.

Patients in the PRP group, who started with a mean Harris Hip score of 51.67 and mean WOMAC scores of 58.8, showed improved scores of 84.23 and 91.4, respectively, at the 3-month follow-up. Researchers found the improvement was sustained over time as the mean Harris Hip score and WOMAC score were 87.81 and 90.2 at 6 months and 87.42 and 89.3 at 12 months follow-up, respectively.

Patients in the methylprednisolone group had mean preoperative Harris Hip scores and WOMAC scores of 50.52 and 58.3, respectively. Their scores initially improved to 75.32 and 83.6, respectively, at 3-month follow-up. However, the patients regressed at 6 months for scores of 68.4 and 74.3, respectively. At 12-month follow-up, the mean Harris Hip score decreased to 58.81 and WOMAC scores decreased to 63.4.

Reference:

Monto RR. Paper #778. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 11-15, 2014; New Orleans.

Disclosure: Monto receives financial support from Exactech Inc.