Effectiveness of platelet-rich plasma gel alongside tacrolimus ointment in managing erosive oral lichen planus and its effect on oral immune microenvironment

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an autoimmune disease that significantly impacting patients’ life quality. To investigate the clinical efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) gel coupled with tacrolimus ointment in managing erosive oral lichen planus (EOLP) and its effect on the oral immune environment, 80 EOLP patients were selected from 2021 to 2023 and randomised to two groups in our hospital. Both groups were given tacrolimus ointment, the study group added PRP gel. Comparative analysis of lesion area scores and overall treatment effects, wound pain index, salivary inflammatory factors and CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+ ratio, immunoglobulin M (IgM) Changes, adverse reactions and relapses records. After treatment, compared to the control group, the overall effective rate of the study group was significantly higher, the lesion area and VAS score decreased, inflammatory factors decreased, and immune indexes improved (elevated CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ and a decrease in CD8+ and IgM) (P<0.05). Neither of them with serious adverse reactions (P>0.05). The study group’s recurrence rate was lower than the control group’s (P<0.05). This study demonstrated that PRP gel combined with tacrolimus ointment is superior to tacrolimus ointment alone for the treatment of EOLP and can be further applied to clinical treatment.