Comparative efficacy of intra-articular platelet-rich plasma, hyaluronic acid, corticosteroids, and NSAIDs for knee osteoarthritis: A retrospective cohort study
Bibliographic record
Abstract
To compare the efficacy of intra-articular administration of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), hyaluronic acid (HA), corticosteroids (CS), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in patients with knee osteoarthritis. This retrospective study analyzed 205 knees of 150 patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 to 3 knee osteoarthritis treated between 2016 and 2021. Patients received intra-articular injections of PRP, HA, CS, or NSAIDs. Visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores, and Kellgren-Lawrence grades were assessed at baseline and final follow-up (6-12 months). All groups showed significant improvements in the VAS and WOMAC scores from baseline to the final follow-up. PRP demonstrated the greatest pain reduction (3.2 point VAS decrease) and functional improvement (20-point WOMAC decrease). HA provided moderate but consistent benefits to the patients. The CS showed rapid early improvement that diminished over time. NSAIDs showed minimal improvement. Radiographic progression was minimal in all the groups. No major adverse events were observed. PRP offered the most sustained improvement in pain and function in knee osteoarthritis, followed by that of HA. CS provide short-term relief but have limited long-term benefits. NSAIDs were the least effective treatment. These findings support a tailored approach to knee osteoarthritis treatment, using PRP and HA as promising options for long-term management. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The authors declare that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.Level of evidence: Diagnostic Level 3 (retrospective cohort study).
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".