Trial reportKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2023
Sustained superiority in KOOS subscores after matrix-associated chondrocyte implantation using spheroids compared to microfracture.
Trial report in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- A prospective randomized controlled trial comparing biphasic cartilage repair implant with microfracture in small chondral lesions of knee: findings at five-year-follow-up.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Trial
- Biphasic cartilage repair implant versus microfracture in the treatment of focal chondral and osteochondral lesions of the knee: a prospective, multi-center, randomized clinical trial.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2024Trial
- Evaluation of Cartilage Repair After Implantation of Labeled Human Chondrocytes as Free Cells or Spheroids in Rabbit Knees.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Autologous bone grafting combined with spheroid-based matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation for osteochondral defects of the knee: Good clinical outcomes alongside abnormal postoperative gait patterns.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025Article
- Secondary matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation after failed cartilage repair shows superior results when combined with autologous bone grafting: Findings from the German Cartilage Registry (KnorpelRegister DGOU).Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025Article
- Stem and progenitor cells in the synovial joint as targets for regenerative therapy.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2025Review
- Mapping the reporting practices in recent randomised controlled trials published inJournal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Knee Cartilage Lesion Management-Current Trends in Clinical Practice.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Autologous and Allogeneic Cytotherapies for Large Knee (Osteo)Chondral Defects: Manufacturing Process Benchmarking and Parallel Functional Qualification.Pharmaceutics · 2023Article
- Hyperplastic Human Macromass Cartilage for Joint Regeneration.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2023Article
- Chondrocyte Isolation from Loose Bodies-An Option for Reducing Donor Site Morbidity for Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Osteoarthritis as an Umbrella Term for Different Subsets of Humans Undergoing Joint Degeneration: The Need to Address the Differences to Develop Effective Conservative Treatments and Prevention Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 10 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) using spheroids in comparison to arthroscopic microfracture for the treatment of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee.
methodsIn a prospective multicenter-controlled trial, patients aged between 18 and 50 years, with single symptomatic focal cartilage defects between 1 and 4 cm
resultsThe overall KOOS and its five subscores were significantly improved compared to baseline for both the ACI and microfracture group. Non-inferiority of ACI to microfracture was confirmed for the overall KOOS and the subscores, while for the subscores activities of daily living, quality of life and sports and recreation of the threshold for superiority was passed. In the ACI group, a notably more rapid initial improvement of the KOOS was found at three months for the older age group compared to the younger age group and the microfracture group. No other differences were found based on age or defect size. In addition, clinical improvement was found for the MOCART, modified Lysholm and IKDC examination form both the ACI and microfracture group. No safety concern related to either treatment was observed.
conclusionThis study confirms the safety and efficacy of matrix-associated ACI with spheroids at a mid to long-term follow-up. Non-inferiority of ACI to microfracture was confirmed for the overall KOOS and all subscores, while superiority was reached for the subscores activities of daily living, quality of life and sports and recreation in the ACI group. This underlines the importance of ACI for the young and active patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.