Is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) an Effective Treatment for Pressure Ulcers?

Abstract

Background: Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been used as an effective treatment over the years indifferent medical and surgical fields. It has a high concentration of cytokines and growth factors that play a significant role in the wound healing process. This literature review is looking at whether PRP is effective in treating pressure ulcers as they are a major problem causing a significant increase in health care costs, have a huge impact on patients’ quality of life and cause great morbidity and mortality.

Study design and methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed. Pubmed, Ovid Medline, OvidEMBASE and CINHAL were used to conduct the literature search using the following MESH headings: PRP, Platelet rich plasma, Chronic wound*, pressure ulcer*, pressure sore*. Cochrane library was searched for systemic reviews and reference lists of relevant publications were used to identify further studies.

Results: The literature search identified studies that looked at PRP’s effect on different chronic wounds including pressure ulcers in terms of healing. Some studies looked at pressure ulcers separately. The included studies in this literature review are: one randomised double blind controlled trial, three randomised open label controlled trial, one observation study, five case series and two case reports.

Conclusion: PRP promotes the healing of chronic wounds. Individual case series and case reports showed that PRP aids the healing of pressure ulcers improving their vascularity and decreasing ulcer area and volume. Also, some reported significant reduction in healing time. However, further research and randomised controlled trials focusing on the effect of PRP on pressure ulcers need to be conducted in order to support the hypothesis.