Efficacy and Safety of Platelet-Rich Plasma in the Treatment of Hypertrophic Scars and Keloids: A Systematic Review

The aim was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of platelet-rich plasma, used as monotherapy or in combination with other interventions, for the treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids; a systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The search covered the period 2020–2026 and was conducted in PubMed, SciELO, LILACS, Scopus and ScienceDirect, supplemented by a manual search. A total of 243 records were identified, of which 10 publications met the eligibility criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. Due to the clinical and methodological heterogeneity of the publications, no meta-analysis was performed. The included studies demonstrated improvements in clinical parameters such as height, volume, erythema, flexibility and structural characteristics of the scars, as well as a reduction in pain and pruritus. The beneficial effects were more pronounced when platelet-rich plasma was used as an adjuvant treatment, particularly in combination with intralesional corticosteroids or laser procedures; the adverse events attributable to its use were localised, mild and transient. It is concluded that platelet-rich plasma constitutes a promising therapeutic alternative as an adjuvant treatment; however, the heterogeneity of the preparation and administration protocols, concomitant interventions and follow-up periods limits the generalisability of the results; therefore, standardised clinical trials with long-term follow-up are required.