Does vehicle-based delivery of mesenchymal stromal cells give superior results in knee osteoarthritis? Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Relatively higher-quality human studies compared with other topics in this database, e.g. multiple RCTs or systematic reviews. This does not mean it is standard or approved care.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Meta-analysis. We aim to analyze and compare the efficacy and safety of vehicle-based delivery of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee from Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) available in the literature. We conducted independent and duplicate electronic database searches including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library till August 2021 for RCTs analyzing the efficacy and safety of vehicle-based delivery of MSCs in the management of knee osteoarthritis. Visual Analog Score (VAS) for Pain, Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) score, and adverse events were the outcomes analyzed. Analysis was performed in R-platform using OpenMeta [Analyst] software. 21 studies involving 936 patients were included for analysis. None of the studies made a direct comparison of the direct and vehicle-based delivery of MSCs, hence we pooled the results of all the included studies of both groups and made a comparative analysis of their outcomes. Although at 6 months, both direct and vehicle-based delivery of MSCs showed significantly better VAS improvement (p = 0.002, p = 0.010), it was not consistent at 1 year for the vehicle delivery (p = 0.973). During 6 months and 12 months, direct delivery of MSCs (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) outperformed vehicle de

Evidence level

Relatively higher-quality human studies compared with other topics in this database, e.g. multiple RCTs or systematic reviews. This does not mean it is standard or approved care.

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