The role of injections of mesenchymal stem cells as an augmentation tool in rotator cuff repair: 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)

Arthroscopic repair is currently the gold standard for the surgical treatment of rotator cuff tears, but the retear rates remain unacceptably high. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may play a role in the local biology and enhance tendon-to-bone healing during rotator cuff repair. However, the scientific literature is still not well systematized on the effects of injection of MSCs as an augmentation tool for rotator cuff repair. Our goal was to investigate the effect of injections of MSCs to augment rotator cuff repair in patients with rotator cuff tear. PubMed and EMBASE were searched up to June 2022 for clinical studies that applied MSCs injections to augment rotator cuff repair. Imaging, patient-reported outcomes measures, shoulder range of motion and strength were collected. Quantitative synthesis included within- and between-group mean differences with the within-group percentage of minimal clinically important difference for each study and continuous outcomes, and relative risks (RR) for retears and adverse events. Quantitative synthesis was computed with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We included 5 studies comprising a total of 228 individuals with a weighted mean age of 59.3 ± 1.2 years. Three studies used bone marrow MSCs and two studies applied adipose-derived MSCs. Patient-reported outcomes measures, shoulder range of motion, and strength improved significantly in all M

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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