Table 2.
Experimental settings of the included studies. Listed are the key elements of all analyzed studies including initial nerve injury and type of surgical intervention, applied therapy, therapeutic regimen, animal number, observation period and reported predefined outcome.
| Study | Nerve defect | Therapy | Therapeutic regimen | Included Animals (treated + untreated) | Observation period | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chang30 | Conduit (12 mm) | US | pulsed, (20%DC), 200 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 5 min, 12×/2weeks | N = 48 | 6 weeks | Number and mean area of myelinated axons inside the conduit in week 6 |
| Chang31 | Conduit (17 mm) | US | pulsed (20%DC), 300 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 5 min, 12×/2weeks | N = 48 | 8 weeks | Number and mean area of myelinated axons inside the conduit in week 8 |
| Jahromy26 | Sciatic nerve crush | US | continuous, 200 mW/cm2, 3, 3 MHz, 2 min, 12×/4weeks | N = 70 | 4 weeks | MF 12×/30d; CMAP in week 1, 2, 3 and 4 |
| Jiang24 | Reverse sciatic autograft (10 mm) | US | pulsed (20%DC), 250 or 500 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 5 min, 7×/week until sacrifice | N = 60 | 12 weeks | MF in week 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12; CMAP in week 12; number and myelin thickness of myelinated axons inside the autograft in week12 |
| Kim32 | Conduit (12 mm) | US | pulsed (20%DC), 400 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 2 min, 1×/week until sacrifice | N = 36 | 24 weeks | Myelin thickness and diameter of myelinated axons in week 4, 12 and 24, NCV in week 12 and 24 |
| Lv22 | Conduit (12 mm) | US | pulsed (20%DC), 300 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 5 min, 14×/2weeks | N = 16 | 12 weeks | MF in weeks 4 and 12; NCV in week 12 |
| Mourad27 | Sciatic nerve crush | US | continuous, 500 mW/cm2 + 1 MHz, 250 mW/cm2 + 1 MHz, 250 mW/cm2 + 0,25 MHz, 1 min, 12×/4weeks | N = 53 | 4 weeks | MF on day 7, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, 28 and 30 |
| Park33 | Conduit (12 mm) | US | pulsed (20%DC), 400 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 2 min, 8×/8weeks | N = 30 | 3 weeks | Myelin thickness and axon diameter in week 4 and 8 |
| Raso23 | Sciatic nerve crush | US | pulsed (20%DC3), 400 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 2 min, 10×/10days | N = 20 | 3 weeks | MF in week 1,2, and 3; nerve fiber density in week 3 |
| Zhou25 | Sciatic nerve crush | US | continuous, 250 mW/cm2, 1 MHz, 1 min, 7×/week until sacrifice | N = 64 | 8 weeks | MF and NCV in week 4,6 and 8; density of myelinated axons in week 2, 4, 6 and 8 |
| Hausner29 | Reverse sciatic autograft (8 mm) | ESWT | 300 impulses, 3 Hz, 0.1 mJ/mm2, once after surgery | N = 40 | 12 weeks | Number of myelinated axons and NCV in week 3 and 12; MF in week 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 |
| Lee34 | Sciatic nerve crush | ESWT | 300 impulses, 3 Hz, 0.09 mJ/mm2, 6×/2weeks | N = 40 | 2 weeks | MF on day 1 and 14 |
| Lee35 | Sciatic nerve crush | ESWT | 300 impulses, 3 Hz, 0.09 mJ/mm2, 10×/2weeks | N = 30 | 6 weeks | MF on day 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 |
US, ultrasound therapy; ESWT, extracorporeal shock wave therapy; DC, duty cycle; MF, voluntary motor function; CMAP, compound muscle action potential; NCV, nerve conduction velocity.