* What is the average price for a knee #PRP injection at the top 25 US Hospitals?*
Well, we got a very basic survey answer here which is great. The mean is $800 per injection.
But how many platelets are in that injection? We have an average price but we don't know how many platelets that is buying. As a result the conclusion misses out on some critical price factors that must be considered by doctors and patients alike when choosing PRP companies, following dosing protocols, and pricing the PRP for patients.
Let me explain.
Single Price does not equal the total cost to the patient.
Would you rather have 3 injections for $800 each or 1 injection for $1800 if the results were the same? Right.
What if the single $1800 PRP injection actually had a Better result? NO brainer right? Give me the $1800 injection.
Well that is exactly the situation based on level 1 studies on PRP dosing for knee OA. Virtually all of the multi-dose protocols are with PRP "kits" that produce less than 3 Billion platelets per injection. Probably because a single injection didn't work....reasonable doctors using those low blood draw and low dose kits started doing 2 or 3 injections to see if they could improve the result....because they were locked into a "low dose" PRP kit. With no constraints on PRP kits, other reasonable doctors have come at the problem by increasing the dose of a SINGLE injection with fantastic results. The best and widely quoted paper by Bansal was a level 1 study with a SINGLE injection of PRP at a dose of 10 Billion platelets in 8cc.....and it worked for about a year for mid-grade knee arthritis.
On the other hand, there are several papers in the past 3 years showing that if the single PRP platelet dose is 3 billion or less.....even giving 3 injections is NO better than placebo!!!
Single injection, 60cc blood draw....8+ Billion platelets in 6-8cc of PRP....this basically brackets the best data we have today.
We need level 1 studies on HIGH dose PRP to see if multiple injections of high dose PRP are better than a single injection of high dose PRP.
Common questions
- How much does a PRP knee injection cost in the US?
- A survey of the top 25 US hospitals put the mean at $800 per injection. That number is only half an answer, because it does not say how many platelets the injection contains. Two clinics both quoting $800 can be delivering doses that differ several times over, and dose is what the level 1 evidence ties to results.
- Is it better to have three cheaper PRP injections or one expensive one?
- One high-dose injection, based on the level 1 evidence. The widely quoted Bansal study used a single injection at a dose of 10 billion platelets in 8cc and worked for about a year in mid-grade knee arthritis. Several papers in recent years show that when the dose per injection is 3 billion platelets or less, even three injections are no better than placebo.
- Why do so many clinics use a three-injection protocol?
- Because most multi-dose protocols use kits that produce under 3 billion platelets per injection. A single low-dose injection did not work, so reasonable physicians locked into low blood draw kits began giving two or three to try to improve the result. Physicians without that constraint raised the dose of a single injection instead. A 60cc draw yielding 8 or more billion platelets in 6 to 8cc brackets the best current data.
Don Buford, MD is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. That matters here because the same physician who can offer you an orthobiologic injection can also tell you honestly when an injection is not the right answer and an operation is. A clinic that cannot perform the surgery has no way to make that comparison.
