ReviewThe Journal of arthroplasty2025
The Role of Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head.
Review in The Journal of arthroplasty, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Nontraumatic Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses for the ARCO Clinical Practice Guideline Development Workgroup.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Different Types of Core Decompression in Early-Stage Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: Evolution of Contemporary Management Strategies.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOsteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) can cause pain, diminished function, and eventual articular collapse, disproportionately impacting younger patients. Core decompression (CD) is used to halt or at least delay postcollapse disease in patients who suffer from ONFH, but it can have variable outcomes. Orthobiologics are cellular therapies, growth factors, and biomaterial substances obtained from human cells and tissue that promote biological healing and have recently gained attention in the treatment of osteonecrosis. In this review, the role of orthobiologics in the treatment of osteonecrosis is discussed.
methodsWe reviewed the existing literature regarding orthobiologics in the treatment of precollapse ONFH. A total of 11 studies were included, consisting of six randomized controlled trials and five retrospective reviews. The included literature was obtained through a PubMed query of all studies from 1990 to 2024 that evaluated the role of ancillary cell-based therapies in the treatment of precollapse ONFH. Level IV and non-human studies were not included.
resultsThere were seven studies that supported the use of orthobiologics as an augmentation strategy to CD in terms of radiographic outcomes (i.e., prevention of femoral head collapse), clinical symptoms, or conversion to total hip arthroplasty. There were four studies (one retrospective review and three randomized controlled trials) that found no clinical or radiographic difference in collapse progression in patients who received CD versus CD along with an orthobiologic augmentation strategy.
conclusionsIn summary, further adequately powered, multicenter, blinded, randomized controlled trials are necessary. In addition, many of the studies had other limitations, including a large variability in mesenchymal cell content and standardization. Although the current literature regarding orthobiologic augmentation in the treatment of precollapse ONFH appears promising, further investigation is necessary to conclude its efficacy.
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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.