The board of directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has approved a new position statement that urges orthopedic surgeons and patients to be fully aware of the risks and benefits of stem cell and other biologic treatments for musculoskeletal joint conditions.
AAOS Issues New Position on Biologic and Stem Cell Treatment
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The statement is titled “Use of Emerging Biologic Therapies.”
Biologics are treatments isolated or derived from natural sources. Common biologic treatments are the injection of a patient’s or donor’s blood heavily concentrated with platelets into an osteoarthritis infected joint. Biologics also are used to repair damaged cartilage.
“While gaining in popularity, and providing relief for some patients, biologic treatments may lack the demonstrated safety and efficacy of many traditional orthopaedic therapeutics,” said J. Tracy Watson, M.D., chair of the AAOS Biologics Committee. “The Academy wants to make sure that doctors and patients are making informed treatment decisions, based on the most current research and product indications.”
Watson believes that surgeons should be cognizant of the risks, benefits, regulatory status and labeled indications of the products they use.
Two Academy guidelines are referenced in the new statement. They are Orthopaedic Surgical Consent and Standards of Professionalism.
These reinforce the role of the orthopedic surgeons in fully informing patients of the risks and benefits of various treatments, including biologics, and securing patient consent before moving forward with a particular modality.
The new statement recommends that orthopedic surgeons and their affiliated hospitals and clinics participate in registries to provide data on the efficacy of biologic treatments.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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