The clinical use of platelet-rich plasma in the promotion of bone healing: a systematic review.

Platelet-rich plasma has been shown in several in vitro and animal studies to play a role in promoting new bone formation. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify the current relevant evidence base, searching across multiple sources including Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library, and finding five clinically relevant articles. Only one was a randomised controlled trial, but this was underpowered for the outcome measure defined. Three studies exclusively concerned children, and included those with congenital limb deformities. Two other reports were case series. Early clinical results suggest that the use of platelet-rich plasma is safe and feasible, but that at present there is no clinical evidence of benefit in either acute or delayed fracture healing.