Mid-term symptomatic relief after platelet-rich plasma infltration in vulvar lichen sclerosus

Abstract

Purpose Vulvar lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic, progressive, autoimmune dermatologic condition that causes cutaneous changes accompanied by pruritus and pain. There remains a small population with vulvar LS refractory to topical corticos teroids. Injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been reported to have positive efects on tissue repair. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate changes in symptom scores during and after PRP vulvar infltration. Methods Three PRP infltrations were administered to 28 female postmenopausal patients with biopsy-proved LS with unsatisfactory response to steroid therapy. Change in score according to the Clinical Scoring System for Vulvar Lichen Scle rosus (CSS) was measured on six occasions over the course of a year. We used growth curve modeling to measure change over the period of the study. Results Women in our study experienced a statistically signifcant improvement in auto-assessed symptoms of vulvar lichen sclerosus, and this improvement appears to be maintained throughout the monitoring year. Conclusion Platelet-rich plasma may have a role in symptom relief in certain cases of patients with LS that do not respond to frst-line therapy. Keywords Vulvar · Lichen sclerosus · PRP · Platelet-rich plasma · Infltration · Symptom score · Grow curve model