Treatment of Pre-Collapse Stages of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: a Systematic Review of Randomized Control Trials

HSS J. 2016 Oct;12(3):261-271. doi: 10.1007/s11420-016-9505-9. Epub 2016 Jun 8.

Abstract

Background: Treatment for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) remains controversial. Current reviews include low-level evidence studies evaluating the treatment of both pre-collapse and collapse stages of the disease.

Questions/purposes: The purpose of the current study is to systematically review the literature evaluating core decompression (CD) with bone marrow mesenchymal cells (BMMCs), CD alone, and bisphosphonate treatment in pre-collapse ONFH by focusing just on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) reporting functional and radiologic outcomes. We aim to determine if the literature provides evidence supporting any single approach.

Methods: Using PubMed and EMBASE databases, we reviewed the clinical evidence of treatments for pre-collapse ONFH following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Twelve RCTs met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Results showed that CD with BMMCs has lower risk of femoral head collapse when compared to the CD alone excluding hips lost to follow-up (relative risk (RR) [95% CI]:0.25 [0.11, 0.60]; p = 0.002) and when assumed that hips lost to follow-up experienced collapse (RR [95% CI]: 0.11 [0.03, 0.47]; p = 0.003). Neither CD nor bisphosphonate treatments showed lower risk to femoral head collapse when compared to control treatments (p = 0.46 and 0.31, respectively).

Conclusion: Current literature shows that there is a lower risk of femoral head collapse in patients with ONFH treated with CD combined with BMMCs when compared to CD alone; however, there is no robust evidence to determine the effect on functional outcomes. More RCTs assessing new combination therapies and using standardized outcome measures are required.

Keywords: femoral head; osteonecrosis; pre-collapse treatment.

Publication types

  • Review