Objective: To summarize the application status and progress of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in clinical orthopedics.
Methods: The recent related literature concerning the application of PRP in clinical orthopedics was extensively reviewed and analyzed.
Results: Recently, a large number of clinical studies on PRP have been carried out, which are applied in bone defects or nonunion, spinal fusion, osteoarthritis and cartilage injuries, ligament reconstruction, muscle strain, tendon terminal diseases, and a variety of acute and chronic soft tissue injuries. Some results show certain effectiveness, while others demonstrate invalid.
Conclusion: Easily drawing, achieving autologous transplantation, and the biological repair potential of the musculoskeletal tissues make PRP to be widely used in clinical orthopedics. However, there are still no uniform standards accepted and reliable clinical guidelines about the application of PRP. Furthermore, a variety of PRP products and their respective indications are also different. The clinical evidences with the greater sample size and higher quality are still needed to further support the safety and effectiveness of PRP in clinical orthopedics.