Table 1.

Eligibility criteria.

Inclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

Patients presenting symptomatic isolated and/or multiple knee cartilage defects of the knee graded 3–4 according to IRCS and/or Outerbridge classification Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) graded 3–4 according to IRCS classification Age > 15 Treatments: microfractures, autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), chondrospheres, autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC), and osteochondral autograft transplantation (OAT) Any follow-up length Any prior surgery on ligaments and/or menisci and/or limb alignment procedure No restrictions for prior cartilage surgery, such as microfractures, drilling, abrasion, debridement, fixation, or ablation of OCD fragments No restrictions for concomitant knee surgery Randomized controlled trials No restrictions for language and publication date

Patients presenting knee cartilage defects graded as 1–2 according to IRCS and/or Outerbridge Osteoarthritis Kellgren–Lawrence grade 3–4 Rheumatoid arthritis Age < 15 Biologically enhanced cell-based and marrow stimulation techniques Subchondral drilling, debridement, abrasion techniques, chondroplasty Osteochondral allograft transplantation Cartilage substitutes such as hydrogels (Cartiva) and bioceramic composite (MaioRegen) Scaffold-free techniques different from chondrospheres Studies evaluating different chondrosphere doses, without comparison with other techniques. Prior cartilage surgery, other than microfractures, drilling, abrasion, debridement, fixation, or ablation of OCD fragments Multiple types of cartilage restoration procedures performed simultaneously Trials evaluating pre- or post-operative supportive medical and/or rehabilitative treatments Other studies than randomized controlled trials Animal studies

OCD, osteochondritis dissecans.