Cellular Augmentation of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery Is Not Currently Evidence Based: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies.

Purpose: To perform a systematic review of clinical outcome studies exploring cellular augmentation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery, including stem cell techniques.

Methods: A systematic search was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines using the Cochrane, PubMed, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) databases from 2000 to 2019. The inclusion criteria were clinical studies that reported on ACL surgery augmented with stem cells or cellular therapy and patient-reported outcome measures or graft healing.