Effects of platelet-rich plasma in experimental acute acoustic trauma

Objectives Acoustic trauma (AT) is a condition for which no standard treatment currently exists. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a neuroregenerative agent. This prospective experimental study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of PRP in rats subjected to AT. Methods Baseline auditory brainstem response (ABR) and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) were measured prior to AT induction and again 3 days afterward. Following this, intratympanic PRP was administered to the treatment group ( n = 10), while the control group ( n = 10) received intratympanic saline. After 3 weeks, ABR and DPOAE tests were repeated and compared with the initial results. Results In the PRP group, significant improvements in DPOAE thresholds at 25,000 Hz and 32,000 Hz were observed between the post-trauma and post-treatment stages. No significant differences were found between baseline and post-treatment measurements. ABR thresholds in the PRP group increased significantly following trauma ( P = .007) but showed no significant difference compared with baseline after treatment ( P = .615). A statistically significant improvement was observed between post-trauma and post-treatment thresholds ( P = .013). Conclusion PRP appears to contribute positively to auditory recovery following AT, likely due to its neuroregenerative properties. Nevertheless, further randomised, larger-scale studies are required to substantiate these preliminary findings.