Background: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate treatment effects of continuous passive motion (CPM) after surgical cartilage repair.
Patients/material and methods: A literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, MEDLINE, Trip Database and in bibliographies of included studies. Two independent researchers evaluated the quality of original investigations by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Systematic reviews were checked by the CBO/Dutch Cochrane Centre Guideline.
Results: A total of 1541 studies was initially retrieved from the databases. After screening for inclusion criteria, one review and ten original papers could be included for further evaluation. Studies showed methodological weaknesses. Heterogeneity of outcome measures and the fact that 6 of 9 studies with an one-group pre-post design measured the combined effect of surgical treatment and CPM prevented a meta-analysis.
Conclusion: Three studies described significant improvements with regard to subjective outcome such as pain, swelling, Quality Life Survey, Knee Society score, WOMAC score or rating Cincinnati due to the surgical treatment and the CPM intervention of cartilage defects in the knee. Six (case) studies suggested an enhanced cartilage quality of the patients after CPM. More high-quality randomised controlled trials are needed to provide high level evidence.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.