First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, China.
Stem Cells Dev. 2022 Aug;31(15-16):431-444. doi: 10.1089/scd.2022.0060. Epub 2022 Apr 19.
Clinical guidelines need high-quality studies to support clinical decision making, in which the evidence often was collected from systematic reviews (SRs) and/or meta-analyses (MAs). At present, the methodological quality and risk of bias (RoB) of SRs/MAs on stem cell therapy for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has been poorly investigated. This study aims to strictly evaluate the methodological quality and RoB in SRs/MAs of stem cell therapy for KOA. Four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases) were searched, from inception to October 5, 2021. SRs/MAs involving randomized control trials or cohort studies on stem cell therapy for the treatment of KOA were included. The methodological quality and RoB were assessed using AMSTAR 2 and ROBIS tool, respectively. In total, 22 SRs/MAs were included. According to the results obtained by AMSTAR 2 tool, all SRs/MAs were rated as "Critically low." Main methodological weaknesses were as follows: up to 81.82% did not meet protocol registration requirements, only 13.64% provided a list of excluded studies and justification, and 13.64% investigated and discussed the publication bias. ROBIS-based RoB assessment showed that all the SRs/MAs were rated as "High." Besides, the lack of following the implementation of the PRISMA reporting guideline seems to reduce the methodological quality of the studies. The overall methodological quality of the SRs/MAs concerning the application of stem cell therapy in treating KOA is "Critically low," while the RoB is high. It is difficult to provide effective evidence for the formulation of guidelines for KOA treatment. We suggest that the relevant methodological quality assessment should be carried out in the future before the SRs/MAs are used as clinical evidence. In addition, it may be necessary for many journals to include the checklist with a submitted article. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021246924.
临床指南需要高质量的研究来支持临床决策,而这些证据通常来自系统评价(SRs)和/或荟萃分析(MAs)。目前,干细胞治疗膝骨关节炎(KOA)的 SRs/MAs 的方法学质量和偏倚风险(RoB)尚未得到充分研究。本研究旨在严格评估干细胞治疗 KOA 的 SRs/MAs 的方法学质量和 RoB。检索了四个电子数据库(PubMed、Embase、Cochrane Library 和 Web of Science 数据库),从建库到 2021 年 10 月 5 日。纳入了关于干细胞治疗 KOA 的随机对照试验或队列研究的 SRs/MAs。分别使用 AMSTAR 2 和 ROBIS 工具评估方法学质量和 RoB。共纳入 22 篇 SRs/MAs。根据 AMSTAR 2 工具的结果,所有 SRs/MAs 的评分均为“严重低”。主要方法学缺陷如下:高达 81.82% 的研究未满足方案注册要求,仅 13.64% 的研究提供了排除研究清单和理由,13.64% 的研究调查并讨论了发表偏倚。基于 ROBIS 的 RoB 评估显示,所有 SRs/MAs 的评分均为“高”。此外,未遵循 PRISMA 报告指南的实施似乎降低了研究的方法学质量。关于干细胞治疗在治疗 KOA 中的应用的 SRs/MAs 的总体方法学质量为“严重低”,而 RoB 较高。很难为 KOA 治疗指南的制定提供有效的证据。我们建议,在将 SRs/MAs 用作临床证据之前,应进行相关的方法学质量评估。此外,许多期刊可能需要在提交文章时包含清单。PROSPERO 注册号:CRD42021246924。
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