Treatment of Articular Cartilage Defects: A Descriptive Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Global Trends Reported from 2001 to 2020 ...

PurposeTo evaluate the clinical characteristics and global trends in the surgical treatment of articular cartilage defects.MethodsStudies in English published between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2020 were retrieved from MEDLINE, WOS, INSPEC, SCIELO, KJD, and RSCI on the “Web of Science.” Patient data were extracted, including age, sex, defect location and laterality, duration of follow-up and symptoms, and body mass index (BMI). Data were further stratified according to the surgical method, lesion location, procedural type and geographical area, and time period. A comparative analysis was performed.ResultsOverall, 443 studies involving 26,854 patients (mean age, 35.25 years; men, 60.5%) were included. The mean lesion size and patient BMI were 3.51 cm 2 and 25.61 kg/m 2 , respectively. Cartilage defects at the knees, talus, and hips affected 20,850 (77.64%), 3,983 (14.83%), and 1,425 (5.31%) patients, respectively. The numbers of patients who underwent autologous chondrocyte implantation, arthroscopic ...