Antibacterial Effects of Platelet Rich Plasma

In this article published in the British Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the anti-bacterial effects of PRP are discussed. There results are most interesting and deserve further investigation.

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Here is the abstract:

J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2007 Mar;89(3):417-20.

Antibacterial effect of autologous platelet gel enriched with growth factors and other active substances: AN IN VITRO STUDY.

Bielecki TM, Gazdzik TS, Arendt J, Szczepanski T, Krol W, Wielkoszynski T.

1Department and Clinic of Orthopaedics, Medical University of Silesia, Pl. Medykow 1, 41-200, Sosnowiec, Poland.

Platelet-rich plasma is a new inductive therapy which is being increasingly used for the treatment of the complications of bone healing, such as infection and nonunion. The activator for platelet-rich plasma is a mixture of thrombin and calcium chloride which produces a platelet-rich gel. We analysed the antibacterial effect of platelet-rich gel in vitro by using the platelet-rich plasma samples of 20 volunteers. In vitro laboratory susceptibility to platelet-rich gel was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method. Baseline antimicrobial activity was assessed by measuring the zones of inhibition on agar plates coated with selected bacterial strains. Zones of inhibition produced by platelet-rich gel ranged between 6 mm and 24 mm (mean 9.83 mm) in diameter. Platelet-rich gel inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and was also active against Escherichia coli. There was no activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Moreover, platelet-rich gel seemed to induce the in vitro growth of Ps. aeruginosa, suggesting that it may cause an exacerbation of infections with this organism. We believe that a combination of the inductive and antimicrobial properties of platelet-rich gel can improve the treatment of infected delayed healing and nonunion.