Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combined with noninvasive, nonenergy procedures have shown promise in managing atrophic acne scars. However, there is a lack of systematic review or meta-analysis of the effectiveness of this therapy.

The present study used meta-analysis to compare Goodman and Baron qualitative scores, patient satisfaction outcomes, and adverse effects in patients undergoing combination procedures with PRP, combination procedures without PRP, and noninvasive monotherapy without PRP for treating patients with atrophic acne scars.

It searched Pubmed and Cochrane library databases for relevant studies published before May 1, 2019, and used PRISMA guidelines. It included studies that compared the use of PRP in combination with a noninvasive procedure and therapies without PRP for the treatment of atrophic acne scars. The study also utilized Cochrane′s handbook to assess the individual biases of the included studies, along with assessing the Publication bias.

This study observed-

• Review of 311 participants (153 whole-face participants and 158 split-face participants) across eight included studies.
• A statistically significant reduction in scar severity scores in favor of microneedling or subcision with PRP in the Quantitative analysis of 241 participants across six included studies.
• Superior effectiveness of combination therapy with intradermal or topical PRP than monotherapy alone and combination therapy with an adjunct other than PRP.

This study shows that microneedling or subcision with PRP imparts statistically significant improvement in validated outcomes over microneedling or subcision alone.

Long T, Gupta A, Ma S, Hsu S. Platelet-rich plasma in noninvasive procedures for atrophic acne scars: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 2020;19(4):836-844. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.13331