Platelet-Rich Plasma as an Adjuvant Therapy in the Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) causes severe neuropathic pain with limited long-term relief from pharmacotherapy or surgery. Recently, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has shown to be promising as adjuvant therapy promoting nerve repair. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of PRP as an adjuvant therapy for TN. A PRISMA-guided search with predefined eligibility criteria across several databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Embase was performed by three independent reviewers. Four studies (1 RCT, 3 cohort studies) were identified. RoB 2 and the NOS scale were used to evaluate study quality. All studies involved injection of PRP in trigger zones for 1–6 weeks. PRP along with carbamazepine yielded significant pain reductions. There was minimal recurrence in the investigated follow-up period. No side effects or complications were noted. PRP-based approaches were consistently associated with prolonged pain-free follow-up periods, high clinical success rates, and marked reductions in pain severity and analgesic dependence, highlighting their therapeutic potential as minimally invasive alternatives.