3. Outcomes included in analyses.
| Study ID | Pain | Function | Knee‐specific and generic health‐related quality of life | Participant‐reported treatment success | Knee surgery (replacement or osteotomy) | Serious and total adverse events | Progression of knee OA |
| Chang 1993 | AIMS Pain | AIMS Physical Function | ‐ | Patient global assessment measured on VAS | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ |
| Gauffin 2014 | KOOS Pain | KOOS ADL | KOOS QoL (knee‐specific), EQ‐5D (generic) |
Improvement in the KOOS‐Pain score of > 10 points from baseline | ‐ | Yes | Yes |
| Herrlin 2007 | KOOS Pain | KOOS ADL | KOOS QoL (knee‐specific) | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | Yes |
| Katz 2013 | KOOS Pain | WOMAC Physical Function | ‐ | Improvement in the WOMAC‐Physical Function score of at least 8 points | Yes | Yes | ‐ |
| Kirkley 2008 | WOMAC Pain | WOMAC Physical Function | Standard‐gamble utility score (generic) | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ |
| Kise 2016 | KOOS Pain | KOOS ADL | KOOS QoL (knee‐specific), SF‐36 MCS (generic) |
‐ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Merchan 1993 | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | Increase in post‐treatment modified Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Rating Score of at least 10 points | ‐ | Yes | ‐ |
| Moseley 1996 | Average intensity of knee pain (NRS) | ‐ | ‐ | Satisfaction with surgery measured as number of participants reporting 'strongly agree' or 'slightly agree' for item 'do you feel the operation was worthwhile?' | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ |
| Moseley 2002 | SF‐36 Pain | SF‐36 Physical Function | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐a | ‐ |
| Osteras 2012 | VAS Pain at rest | KOOS | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ |
| Roos 2018 | KOOS Pain | KOOS ADL | KOOS QoL (knee‐specific), SF‐36 MCS (generic) |
Global perceived effect (rating of 'better' or 'much better') | ‐ | Total adverse events onlya | ‐ |
| Saeed 2015 | Pain on Knee Society Score System (KSSS) | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | Total adverse events only | ‐ |
| Sihvonen 2013 | Knee pain after exercise (NRS) | Lysholm Knee Score | WOMET score (knee‐specific), 15D (generic) | Number of participants reporting 'much better' or 'better' for item 'Is your knee better than before the intervention? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Van de Graaf 2018 | VAS Pain on weight‐bearing | International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form | ‐ | ‐ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vermesan 2013 | ‐ | Oxford Knee Score | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ | ‐ |
| Yim 2013 | VAS Pain during activity | Lysholm Knee Score | ‐ | Satisfaction with management, measured as number of participants reporting 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' | ‐ | ‐ | Yes |
aUnclear whether serious adverse events occurred in both treatment groups or only in the arthroscopy group
ADL: activities of daily living; AIMS: Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale; NRS: numerical rating scale; EQ‐5D 3L: EuroQoL 5‐dimension 3‐level quality of life questionnaire; OA: osteoarthritis; KOOS: Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score; QoL/QOL: quality of life; SF‐36: 36‐item Short Form Health Survey; VAS: visual analogue scale; WOMAC: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index