Intra-Articular Cellular Therapy for Osteoarthritis and Focal Cartilage Defects of the Knee: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Study Quality Analysis

Conclusions:
The studies of intra-articular cellular therapy injections for osteoarthritis and focal cartilage defects in the human knee suggested positive results with respect to clinical improvement and safety. However, the improvement was modest and a placebo effect cannot be disregarded. The overall quality of the literature was poor, and the methodological quality was fair, even among Level-II and III studies. Effective clinical assessment and optimization of injection therapies will demand greater attention to study methodology, including blinding; standardized quantitative methods for cell harvesting, processing, characterization, and delivery; and standardized reporting of clinical and structural outcomes.

Level of Evidence:
Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Source: JBJS - September 20, 2016 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Chahla, J., Piuzzi, N. S., Mitchell, J. J., Dean, C. S., Pascual-Garrido, C., LaPrade, R. F., Muschler, G. F. Tags: Knee Scientific Articles Source Type: research