Evaluation of Spin in Clinical Trials of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.

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)

The regenerative potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) has sparked interest in their use for knee osteoarthritis. Concurrently, there have been investigations on how data in scientific journals are reported and how they may influence readers' interpretations, or "spin bias." These studies are at risk for bias, given the limited number of patients and inconsistent blinding or controls. The risk of spin bias also complicates the interpretation, as results may be presented in a way that favors a particular outcome. To quantify and characterize spin bias in clinical trials of MSCs for knee osteoarthritis. Systematic review. PubMed and Embase searches were conducted using the terms "mesenchymal stem cells" or "MSCs" and "knee arthritis" or "osteoarthritis" and "therapy" or "treatment" or "regeneration." Overall, 2 independent reviewers classified spin as high, moderate, or low and as 1 of 3 types: (1) emphasizing statistically significant results, (2) interpreting nonsignificant results as treatment effectiveness, and (3) claiming treatment benefits despite nonsignificant results. Journals were categorized as orthopaedic or nonorthopaedic. Descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and the Fisher exact test were used to analyze the data, with alpha set at P < .05. Among the 54 studies, spin was found in 80.0% of articles, with 14.5% having high, 25.5% moderate, and 40.0% l

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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