Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39543728›Full record

SynthesisKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2025

Orthobiologic therapies delay the need for hip arthroplasty in patients with avascular necrosis of the femoral head: A systematic review and survival analysis.

Marco Zaffagnini, Angelo Boffa, Luca Andriolo, Federico Raggi, Stefano Zaffagnini, Giuseppe Filardo

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Efficacy of PRP versus hyaluronic acid in obese individuals with knee osteoarthritis: a retrospective study.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2026
    Article
  4. Surgical treatments of bone marrow lesions.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Marco ZaffagniniClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Angelo BoffaClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-6900
Luca AndrioloClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Federico RaggiClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Stefano ZaffagniniClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Giuseppe FilardoApplied and Translational Research (ATR) Center, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aim of this systematic review and survival analysis was to quantify the benefits of orthobiologic augmentation therapies for the treatment of avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head and identify the most effective approach to delay the need for total hip arthroplasty (THA).

methodsA systematic review of the literature was performed on PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane on clinical studies on orthobiologic therapies used alone or as an augmentation to core decompression or other procedures to address hip AVN. A qualitative analysis of the different biological therapies applied was performed. Afterward, the results of these procedures were quantitatively analysed to document their survivorship from THA compared to treatment groups without orthobiologics. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed for all studies and then by categorising orthobiologics into treatment subgroups.

resultsA total of 106 studies were included (4505 patients). Different orthobiologic approaches have been evaluated: cell-based therapies including bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) and bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or other bioactive molecules applied in the osteonecrotic area or as intra-arterial injections. The survival analysis at 120 months documented a higher (p < 0.0005) cumulative survivorship with orthobiologics (69.4%) compared to controls (48.5%). The superiority was shown specifically for BMAC (p < 0.0005), BM-MSCs (p < 0.0005), intra-arterial (p < 0.0005) and PRP (p = 0.011) approaches, but the direct comparison of these approaches with their controls confirmed benefits only for BMAC (p < 0.0005).

conclusionThis systematic review and survival analysis demonstrated that orthobiologics have the potential to improve survivorship in patients affected by hip AVN. In particular, the specific analysis of different orthobiologic products supported relevant benefits for BMAC augmentation in terms of survival from the need for THA, while no clear benefits were confirmed for other orthobiologics. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Indexed as

Arthroplasty, Replacement, HipFemur Head NecrosisHumansMesenchymal Stem Cell TransplantationPlatelet-Rich PlasmaSurvival Analysisavascular necrosishiporthobiologicsosteonecrosisregenerative therapies

Identifiers

PMID39543728
PMCPMC11848991

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.