Effects of platelet-rich plasma injection for pain control and cartilage repair in knee osteoarthritis A protocol for the systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in animal models

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common disabling condition and a heavy financial burden to the society. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is considered to be an effective method in the repair and regeneration of cartilage and alleviate pain in KOA. But the utilising of PRP to treat KOA in clinical has shown variable results from many studies. The objective of this protocol is to determine the efficacy of PRP in pain control and cartilage repair in KOA animal models. Method: We will search the following three electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science. The primary outcome will include the histological score of cartilage and pain score. The secondary outcomes will be the behavioural assessments and cartilage thickness. SYRCLE's risk of bias tool will be used to assessment the risk of bias of including studies. The standardized mean difference and 95% confidence interval will be used to calculate the effect of PRP treatment. The I-2 inconsistency values will be used to calculated the heterogeneity between studies. Results: The results of this paper will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. Conclusion: This research will determine the efficacy of PRP of the treatment of knee osteoarthritis model. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020181589.