Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA.
J Arthroplasty. 2019 Jun;34(6):1053-1057. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2019.03.002. Epub 2019 Mar 8.
Stem cell injections are being offered to patients as a nonoperative treatment for osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. To our knowledge, no peer-reviewed data exist to document the usage frequency of these injections nor to quantify the public interest in these injections. We sought to use Google Trends to provide a quantitative analysis of interest in hip and knee stem cell injections at the population level.
Google Trends search parameters were set to obtain query data from January 2010 through December 2017. 'Arthritis,' 'osteoarthritis,' 'stem cell,' 'injection,' 'knee,' and 'hip' were entered in various combinations to obtain the highest yield search volume. Trend analyses were performed.
Six linear models were generated to show trends in the volume of searches for the United States and the World. Model fit was good, and regression analysis showed significant trends over time for all searches. Use of search terms increased significantly over time (all models P < .001). Adjusted R-square values ranged from 54.4% to 78.1%. All trends showed an upward trajectory for the entirety of the study time period.
There has been a marked and statistically significant rise in search query volume related to stem cells and osteoarthritis of the hip and knee since 2010. Online interest in stem cell injections may suggest increased utilization of these procedures. Well-designed clinical studies are required to keep pace with the rising popularity and public interest in this intervention for hip and knee arthritis.
干细胞注射作为髋关节和膝关节骨关节炎的非手术治疗方法正被提供给患者。据我们所知，目前尚无同行评审的数据记录这些注射的使用频率，也无法量化公众对这些注射的兴趣。我们试图使用谷歌趋势（Google Trends）来提供一个针对人群的髋关节和膝关节干细胞注射兴趣的定量分析。
谷歌趋势搜索参数设置为从 2010 年 1 月至 2017 年 12 月获取查询数据。输入了“关节炎”“骨关节炎”“干细胞”“注射”“膝盖”和“臀部”的各种组合，以获得最高的搜索量。进行了趋势分析。
生成了六个线性模型来显示美国和全球搜索量的趋势。模型拟合良好，回归分析显示所有搜索均随时间呈现显著趋势。随着时间的推移，搜索术语的使用量显著增加（所有模型 P<0.001）。调整后的 R 平方值范围从 54.4%到 78.1%。所有趋势在整个研究期间都呈上升轨迹。
自 2010 年以来，与干细胞和髋关节及膝关节骨关节炎相关的搜索查询量显著且具有统计学意义的上升。对干细胞注射的在线兴趣可能表明这些程序的使用增加。需要进行精心设计的临床研究，以跟上这种治疗髋关节和膝关节关节炎的方法日益普及和公众兴趣的步伐。
