A report on the use of a single intra-articular administration of autologous platelet therapy in a naturally occurring canine osteoarthritis model - a preliminary study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) represents a significant burden to societies, as it affects quality of life, performance and poses a large healthcare cost. We aimed to describe the use of a single intra-articular (IA) injection of an autologous platelet therapy in the management of osteoarthritis (OA) in a naturally occurring canine model. METHODS: Fifteen police working dogs with bilateral hip OA were treated with 3&#x2009;ml of platelet concentrate per hip joint, produced with the V-PET kit. Response to treatment was measured by the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI, divided in pain interference score - PIS, and Pain Severity Score - PSS), Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs (LOAD), Canine Orthopedic Index (COI, divided in four dimensions: function, gait, stiffness and quality of life - QOL) and the Hudson Visual Analogue Scale (HVAS). Seven different time points were considered: T0 (before treatment), T1 (after 15&#x2009;days), T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6 (after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5&#x2009;months respectively). Results from each evaluation moment were compared with T0 with a Paired Samples T-Test, and a p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05 was set. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed at T1 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for HVAS, PSS, COI, Gait and QOL; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.01 for PIS; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.02 for Function; and p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05 for Stiffness), T2 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for PSS, PIS and Gait; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.01 for COI; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.02 for HVAS, Function and QOL; and p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.04 for Stiffness), T3 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for HVAS, PSS, PIS, Function and Gait; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.01 for COI; and p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.02 for QOL), T4 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for PSS; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.03 for PIS and Gait), T5 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for COI, Function and Gait; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.03 for PSS, PIS and Stiffness), T6 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for PSS, Function and Gait; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.04 for PIS; p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05 for COI) and T7 (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.01 for PSS, Function and Gait; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.01 for COI; and p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05 for PIS). CONCLUSIONS: Autologous platelet therapy was used without apparent harm in the subjects. A single administration produced significant improvements, which lasted several months, and therefore warrants further study.