Dr. Roddy McGee on health: what the evidence says · JRE #945
SUBJECT: HEALTH
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
In the particular study that I'm thinking of, they had, you know, 73% of the patients that received PRP had relief of their pain compared to about 50% of patients with a steroid injection.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
The guest's figures closely match a widely cited randomized controlled trial (Gosens et al., 2011) comparing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to corticosteroid injection for chronic lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow), which reported 73% treatment success in the PRP group versus 49% (by VAS score) or 51% (by DASH score) in the corticosteroid group at one-year follow-up, both differences statistically significant. However, subsequent systematic reviews and meta-analyses of multiple randomized trials show a more time-dependent and mixed picture: corticosteroid injections tend to outperform PRP in the short term (roughly 4-8 weeks), while PRP shows superior pain and function outcomes only at longer follow-up (around 24 weeks and beyond). A review of five systematic reviews found consistent long-term PRP superiority but noted substantial overlap among the underlying primary studies (a 28.3% corrected covered area), meaning the apparent consensus rests on a smaller and less independent evidence base than it appears. The guest's specific numbers are accurate to one real trial, but presenting them without naming the study or acknowledging the short-term/long-term trade-off overstates the certainty of PRP's overall superiority.