Injectable orthobiologics in professional football (soccer) players: a systematic review

Response to Comments by Zhao et al. Regarding “Knee Osteoarthritis: Clinical and MRI Outcomes After Multiple Intra-Articular Injections With Expanded Autologous Adipose-Derived Stromal Cells or Platelet-Rich Plasma”

“…2,3 Our team conducted a systematic review on injectable orthobiologics in professional football players, revealing that less than 10% of the studies reported platelet-rich plasma characteristics. 4 In that sense, our commitment to the scientific community was to ensure adequate reporting of our platelet-rich plasma (as a control group) and adipose-derived stromal cells preparation and treatment following the DOSES guidelines 5 and allowing adequate reproducibility of our study and outcomes. In fact, we are promoting adherence to these reporting guidelines as part of manuscript submissions by editors and reviewers to improve the overall quality of the studies.…”

Improving Injectable Orthobiologics Reporting Guidelines Adherence: Letter to the Editor

“…9,10 Several systematic reviews have shown that less than 10% of orthobiologics studies adequately report the implemented platelet-rich plasma preparation protocol, limiting their reproducibility and compromising their scientific value. 2,3,7 Thus, journals and editors can play a critical role in evidence quality improvement by requesting mandatory adherence to reporting guidelines in the submission and reviewing process. 8 The orthopaedic scientific community still faces wide heterogeneity in platelet-rich plasma products, and building high-quality evidence from new studies is paramount.…”