Effects of Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma on Healing of Peptic Ulcers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PURPOSE: Peptic ulcer is a multifactorial and complex disease and affects a wide range of people worldwide. We provided a novel therapeutic approach for peptic ulcer and observed its effect. METHODS: Peptic ulcer patients were enrolled from 2016 to 2017 in Chongqing and randomly assigned to two groups: a control group that used only rabeprazole and a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) group that received a combination therapy of autologous PRP (aPRP) and rabeprazole. The therapeutic effect was assessed via the ulcer size and symptom score. RESULTS: A total of 27 patients were included (12 patients in the control group and 15 patients in the PRP group) in this study. Our results showed that all participants have healed in 30 days, and there was no significant difference in healing time between the PRP group and the control group in different independent variables. However, regression analysis revealed that the healing time was 6.99 days shorter in the PRP group than that in the control group, and patients with higher symptom scores in the initial examination need more time to heal during treatment. Endoscopic results showed that the repaired ulcer in the PRP group was more similar to the normal gastric mucosa tissue than that the control group. CONCLUSION: This study showed an encouraging preliminary result that aPRP has a positive result in patients with peptic ulcer and seems to be a better choice for refractory peptic ulcer treatment. Although further follow-up studies are needed to determine the duration of efficacy of aPRP, the approach will be helpful in improving the clinical treatment of peptic ulcer.