A randomised control trial to assess the efficacy of platelet rich fibrin in type 1 tympanoplasty

Objective: The objective was to assess the efficacy of platelet-rich fibrin in increasing graft uptake and improved hearing outcome following Type I tympanoplasty by postauricular underlay technique. Materials and Methods: Adult patients without any comorbidities in the age group 20-40 years with chronic otitis media-mucosal (inactive) enrolled for type I tympanoplasty were included in this randomized control study. Sixty eligible patients were randomly grouped by lottery method into test (application of platelet-rich fibrin, n = 30) and control groups (without application of platelet-rich fibrin, n = 30). Postoperative closure of the perforation was compared on 1 st month and 3 rd month follow-up. Postoperative graft uptake was compared in both the study groups. Pre- and postoperative comparison of pure tone average (PTA) and air-bone gap (ABG) closure were measured in all patients. Results: The graft uptake rate in the test group was 100%, and for the control group was 86% on 3 rd month follow-up. PTA and ABG closure in patients did not show any comparable improvement in either group. The results were not statistically significant for graft uptake (P = 0.112), PTA (P = 0.221) and ABG (P = 0.931). Conclusion: The use of platelet-rich fibrin did not have significant improvement in postoperative outcome both in terms of tympanic membrane closure and hearing improvement statistically. However, we did notice better graft closure in patients where we used platelet-rich fibrin.