Abstract
To determine the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on pain relief, functional recovery, and graft maturation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Therapeutic RCT. In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), 54 patients undergoing ACLR were prospectively allocated to the PRP group (n = 27) or the control group (n = 27). PRP was injected around the graft during surgery and at 1, 2, and 3 weeks postoperatively in the PRP group; the rest of the surgical and rehabilitation protocol was the same in both groups. The primary efficacy endpoint was the time to achieve significant pain relief (defined as a visual analog scale [VAS] score ≤ 3). The secondary endpoints were the Lysholm score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, and graft signal intensity on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the 12-month follow-up. The primary endpoint-time to achieve meaningful pain relief (VAS ≤ 3)-was not met; no significant difference was found between the 2 groups (2.56 ± 1.05 vs. 2.93 ± 1.27 days, P = 0.248). However, the PRP group showed higher Lysholm scores (91.04 ± 6.44 vs. 85.74 ± 10.60, P = 0.031) and IKDC scores (92.30 ± 5.53 vs. 83.59 ± 13.11, P = 0.02), and reduced MRI signal intensity in the graft midbody (P = 0.021) and distal third (P = 0.006). The primary endpoint was not met: PRP did not accelerate early pain relief (time to VAS ≤ 3) compared with the control group. However, PRP significantly improved short-term functional outcomes and promoted graft ligamentization after ACLR, independent of graft diameter.