Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy for Hip Osteoarthritis

Current Evidence on PRP for Hip Conditions

The 2020 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines explicitly state there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against PRP use in hip osteoarthritis due to inconsistent study results 1
The American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation 2019 guidelines recommend against the use of PRP for hip osteoarthritis 4
Limited research exists specifically on PRP for hip OA compared to knee OA applications 2, 3
A systematic review found no significant difference in function between PRP and hyaluronic acid at all follow-up periods for hip OA 3

A major limitation in evaluating PRP efficacy is the lack of standardization in preparation methods 5
PRP products vary widely in platelet concentration, presence of leukocytes, activation methods, volume injected, and number of injections administered 5, 3

First-line treatments for hip OA should include physical therapy, weight management, and appropriate use of oral or topical NSAIDs 1, 3
For patients with persistent hip pain despite conservative measures, intra-articular corticosteroid injections may be considered before PRP 1
The AAOS/NIH consensus recommendations suggest that knee OA has been identified as having more urgent need for clinical trial development for biologics than hip OA 6

High-quality multicenter randomized controlled trials with standardized PRP preparation protocols are needed 7
Future studies should include biorepositories and standardized outcome measures 7