Platelet Rich Plasma Injection in Pilon Fractures

January 13, 2021 updated by: Brett Crist, University of Missouri-Columbia

Does Early Platelet Rich Plasma Injection Decrease the Risk of Post-traumatic Arthritis in Pilon Fractures Undergoing Two-staged Open Reduction With Internal Fixation?

Patients who sustain broken ankles have a very high risk of developing arthritis soon after injury (within 2 years). This arthritis can cause increased pain and a decrease level of function, especially if the injury occurs at an early age. During and shortly after ankle injury, there is an inflammatory chemical process that takes place in the ankle that can cause damage to the cartilage in the ankle joint. The investigators want to use what is called Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), which is produced from a small amount of the patient's own blood, to inject into the injured ankle to see if they can decrease the inflammation that happens after the injury and to see if they can decrease arthritis.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Patients who sustain broken ankles have a very high risk of developing arthritis soon after their injury (within 2 years). This arthritis can cause increased pain and decreased level of function, especially if the injury occurs at an early age. During and shortly after the ankle injury, there is an inflammatory chemical processes that take place in the ankle that can cause damage to the cartilage in the ankle joint. Currently the treatment for this injury is doing surgery is a two step process. When the patient has an ankle fracture, surgeons will stabilize the fracture with an external fixation device to allow ankle swelling to decrease which has been shown improve outcomes within a few hours. After about 10 days the patient will come back for their final surgery in which surgeons will open the ankle joint and make sure that the joint lines up and fix it with plates and screws.

There is no intervention that is done with regards to the physiologic process that goes on inside the ankle joint when the ankle is injured. This is what the investigators intend to study. There is a very large destructive process that may contribute with the early development to arthritis.

The investigators would like to see the effect of this inflammatory response with the addition of platelet rich plasma (PRP) which is produced from a small vial of the patient's own blood. PRP has been used safely in patients with osteoarthritis and has been shown to slow the progression and improve pain scores. PRP is made by spinning the patient's blood in a centrifuge which separates the blood cells from each other. The bloods cells that are anti-inflammatory in nature are taken and placed in another syringe. This is a blinded randomized control study. There will be two groups in which the patients will randomize into: PRP group, or Normal Saline Group. In both groups, the investigator's plan is to withdraw joint fluid from both the injured and uninjured ankle at the time of the first surgery as to analyze the joint fluid from both ankles.

Participants who are randomized into the PRP group will receive PRP in the injured ankle at the time of the first surgery when the external fixator is placed. Participants who are randomized into the Normal Saline group will receive Normal Saline in the injured ankle at the time of the first surgery when the external fixator is placed.

After 7-14 days the participant will return and have their second surgery for definitive fixation. At the time of surgery, joint fluid will again be taken out of the joint for analysis to see if the PRP decreased the anti-inflammatory cells decreased inflammation. After the second surgery the participant will be followed up in the clinic in a regular manner.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

11

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Missouri
      • Columbia, Missouri, United States, 65212
        • University of Missouri

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Closed unilateral pilon fracture

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are younger than 18 years of age
  • Open pilon fracture
  • Patients with contralateral lower extremity injury
  • Patients unable to comply with the follow-up appointments
  • Patients who had previous ankle injury to the currently injured ankle
  • Patients who are pregnant
  • Prisoners

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Arthrocentesis/PRP

At the time of surgery, the participant will have both injured and uninjured ankles cleaned with surgical soap. An needle will be placed into the injured ankle joint and synovial fluid will be drawn out of the ankle and collected into a syringe. Using the same needle, the PRP will be delivered into the same arthrocentesis needle.

Next the uninjured ankle will have the same procedure as the injured ankle, except there will be no injection of PRP. There will only be a aspiration of synovial fluid from the uninjured ankle joint using a different clean needle.

Another aspiration of the synovial fluid will be done at the time of the second surgery in the same manner as before, except there will be no injection of PRP, just an aspiration of both injured and uninjured ankles.
Biological: Arthrocentesis/PRP
PRP (n=20): single intra-articular injection of 5 ml of a leukocyte-reduced platelet rich plasma (ACP, Arthrex, Naples, FL) at the time of closed reduction and initial stabilization using ankle-spanning external fixation
Other Names:
  • platelet-rich plasma
Placebo Comparator: Arthrocentesis/Saline

At the time of surgery, the participant will have both injured and uninjured ankles cleaned with surgical soap. An needle will be placed into the injured ankle joint and synovial fluid will be drawn out of the ankle and collected into a syringe. Using the same needle, the Saline will be delivered into the same arthrocentesis needle.

Next the uninjured ankle will have the same procedure as the injured ankle, except there will be no injection of Saline. There will only be a aspiration of synovial fluid from the uninjured ankle joint using a different clean needle.

Another aspiration of the synovial fluid will be done at the time of the second surgery in the same manner as before, except there will be no injection of Saline, just an aspiration of both injured and uninjured ankles.
Drug: Arthrocentesis/Saline
Control (n=20): single intra-articular injection of 5 ml of sterile 0.9% saline at the time of closed reduction and initial stabilization using ankle-spanning external fixation
Other Names:
  • saline

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intra-articular Inflammatory Biomarkers at the Time of Definitive Fixation
Time Frame: 2 weeks after external fixation
Inflammatory Biomarkers will be measured (pg/ml) at the time of definitive Fixation
2 weeks after external fixation
Number of Participants With Presence of Post-traumatic Osteoarthritis 18 Months After Open Reduction Internal Fixation (ORIF)
Time Frame: 18 months after ORIF
Post-traumatic Osteoarthritis will be determined from whole-joint Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
18 months after ORIF

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs): Ankle-Hindfoot Scale (AOFAS), Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: 2 weeks after ORIF

The AOFAS is a standardized evaluation of the clinical status of the ankle-hindfoot. In uses both subjective & objective information. Patients report their pain (40 possible points), physicians assess alignment (10 possible points) & the patient and physician work together to complete the function portion (50 possible points). Total scores range from 0-100, with healthy ankles receiving 100.

The SF-12 assesses the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. The 2 scores are reported from the SF12 - a mental componet score (MCS) and a physical component score (PCS). The scores may be reported as Z-scores (difference compared to the population average, measured in standard deviations (SD). The US average PCS-12 and MCS are both 50 points. The US population SD is 10 points. So each 10 increment of 10 point or above or below 50, corresponds to 1 SD away from the average.

VAS measures the amount of pain a patient feels on a continuum from 0=no pain to 100=worst pain.
2 weeks after ORIF
Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs)
Time Frame: 6 weeks after ORIF

The AOFAS is a standardized evaluation of the clinical status of the ankle-hindfoot. In uses both subjective & objective information. Patients report their pain (40 possible points), physicians assess alignment (10 possible points) & the patient and physician work together to complete the function portion (50 possible points). Total scores range from 0-100, with healthy ankles receiving 100.

The SF-12 assesses the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. The 2 scores are reported from the SF12 - a mental componet score (MCS) and a physical component score (PCS). The scores may be reported as Z-scores (difference compared to the population average, measured in standard deviations (SD). The US average PCS-12 and MCS are both 50 points. The US population SD is 10 points. So each 10 increment of 10 point or above or below 50, corresponds to 1 SD away from the average.

VAS measures the amount of pain a patient feels on a continuum from 0=no pain to 100=worst pain.
6 weeks after ORIF
Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs)
Time Frame: 12 weeks after ORIF

The AOFAS is a standardized evaluation of the clinical status of the ankle-hindfoot. In uses both subjective & objective information. Patients report their pain (40 possible points), physicians assess alignment (10 possible points) & the patient and physician work together to complete the function portion (50 possible points). Total scores range from 0-100, with healthy ankles receiving 100.

The SF-12 assesses the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. The 2 scores are reported from the SF12 - a mental componet score (MCS) and a physical component score (PCS). The scores may be reported as Z-scores (difference compared to the population average, measured in standard deviations (SD). The US average PCS-12 and MCS are both 50 points. The US population SD is 10 points. So each 10 increment of 10 point or above or below 50, corresponds to 1 SD away from the average.

VAS measures the amount of pain a patient feels on a continuum from 0=no pain to 100=worst pain.
12 weeks after ORIF
Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs)
Time Frame: 6 months after ORIF

The AOFAS is a standardized evaluation of the clinical status of the ankle-hindfoot. In uses both subjective & objective information. Patients report their pain (40 possible points), physicians assess alignment (10 possible points) & the patient and physician work together to complete the function portion (50 possible points). Total scores range from 0-100, with healthy ankles receiving 100.

The SF-12 assesses the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. The 2 scores are reported from the SF12 - a mental componet score (MCS) and a physical component score (PCS). The scores may be reported as Z-scores (difference compared to the population average, measured in standard deviations (SD). The US average PCS-12 and MCS are both 50 points. The US population SD is 10 points. So each 10 increment of 10 point or above or below 50, corresponds to 1 SD away from the average.

VAS measures the amount of pain a patient feels on a continuum from 0=no pain to 100=worst pain.
6 months after ORIF
Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs)
Time Frame: 12 months after ORIF

The AOFAS is a standardized evaluation of the clinical status of the ankle-hindfoot. In uses both subjective & objective information. Patients report their pain (40 possible points), physicians assess alignment (10 possible points) & the patient and physician work together to complete the function portion (50 possible points). Total scores range from 0-100, with healthy ankles receiving 100.

The SF-12 assesses the impact of health on an individual's everyday life. The 2 scores are reported from the SF12 - a mental componet score (MCS) and a physical component score (PCS). The scores may be reported as Z-scores (difference compared to the population average, measured in standard deviations (SD). The US average PCS-12 and MCS are both 50 points. The US population SD is 10 points. So each 10 increment of 10 point or above or below 50, corresponds to 1 SD away from the average.

VAS measures the amount of pain a patient feels on a continuum from 0=no pain to 100=worst pain.
12 months after ORIF

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Missouri-Columbia

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

June 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 11, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 24, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

June 25, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 5, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 13, 2021

Last Verified

January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2002117

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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