Biomedical Research

Introduction: Facet Joint Osteoarthritis (FJOA) is the most common facet joint pathology with pronounced burdens. Plasma Rich Protein (PRP) injections have been previously investigated in lumbar FJOA with positive results, but use in Cervical Spine (C-Spine) FJOA remains under-investigated. We report the case experience of a patient who was injected with Cytorich PRP for treatment of C-Spine FJOA.

Case presentation: A 52-year-old male patient with a history significant for C5-C6-C7 fusion, C4-C5 right paracentral disc herniation and pain in the right mid-thoracic back was diagnosed with C-Spine FJOA using imaging. Other therapies (e.g., stem cell, hyrounic acid, traditional PRP) failed to alleviate his pain.

Methods: Cytorich PRP was injected bilaterally into the C4-C6 facet joints under fluoroscopy. Cytorich PRP was also injected into trapezius and rhomboids using similar preparation and methods. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to assess changes in pain outcome.

Results: The patient reported a VAS score transformation from 9/10 (severe pain) at baseline to 1/10 (barely any pain) at six and twelve-weeks post-injection.

Discussion: This patient experienced almost complete alleviation of pain at six- and twelve-weeks post-injection when other treatments had previously failed, suggesting cytorich PRP may be a novel safe and effective technique for clinical use in patients with C-Spine FJOA. Investigation using long-term prospective or retrospective cohorts or other observational methods on multiple patients should be considered as next steps.

Author(s): Mohamed R. Gemae, Imran M. Syed, Adeel Khan
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