The influence of sex is a neglected focus in rotator cuff repair: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Rotator cuff (RC) disorders are the most common cause of shoulder disability. The aim of this study was to quantify the evidence on the sex-related differences in RC repair. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed in January 2023 in PubMed, Wiley Cochrane Library and Web of Science on research articles on humans with RC tears treated surgically. A meta-analysis was performed to compare results in men and women. The Downs and Black score and the modified Coleman methodology score (MCMS) were used to assess the retrieved studies. RESULTS: A total of 39,909 patients were enroled in the 401 studies analysed (45% women, 55% men). A trend toward more sex-balanced recruitment was observed over time. Only 4% of the studies on 1.5% of the documented patients presented disaggregated outcome data and were quantitatively analysed. A tendency for lower range of motion values after surgery was found for external shoulder rotation in women, with 39.9° ± 6.9° versus 45.3° ± 4.1° in men (p = 0.066). According to Downs and Black scores, four studies were good and 12 fair, with a main MCMS score of 69/100. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of awareness on the importance to document women- and men-specific data. Only 4% of the articles disaggregated data, and it was possible to analyse only 1.5% of the literature population, a sample which cannot be considered representative of all patients. The lack of disaggregated data is alarming and calls for action to better study men and women differences to optimise the management of RC tears. This will be necessary to provide sex-specific information that could be of clinical relevance when managing RC repair. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.

Achilles tendinopathy research has a gender data gap: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: A persisting gender bias has been recently highlighted in orthopaedics and sports medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the volume of gender-specific data and gender-specific results in the treatment of a common tendon disease, Achilles tendinopathy. METHODS: Pubmed, Cochrane, and Web of Science were searched to identify all clinical studies focusing on Achilles tendinopathy treatment. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) data of women and men of the studies that disaggregated results by gender were collected, and a meta-analysis was conducted. Treatment response within and in between gender categories was evaluated, focusing on overall gender-disaggregated data, as well as within each of the three treatment categories: conservative treatment, injective treatment and surgical treatment. A formal risk of bias analysis was conducted using Downs and Black's grading system. RESULTS: Out of the 8796 papers screened, 178 were included after the screening. The number of female study participants grew from 20% up to 1990 to 48% in the years 2019-2022. Only 373 out of 3423 (11%) female patients and 685 of 4352 (16%) male patients were found in sex-disaggregated studies. A meta-analysis was conducted on the 14 papers that reported sex-disaggregated data for VAS and VISA-A. The meta-analysis revealed that there was no difference in the overall treatment response between women and men and that both genders showed an overall significant treatment benefit in terms of VAS and VISA-A values. However, significant differences were documented within the treatment categories. While no differences were found in surgical studies, in conservative treatment studies, men experienced lower posttreatment VAS values (p = 0.004). The largest difference was found in injective treatments, with men experiencing a larger change in VAS values (men = -3.0, women = -1.0, p = 0.016) and higher posttreatment VISA-A values (p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis showed a lack of awareness of the importance of sex-specific data within Achilles tendinopathy treatment research. The proportion of female study subjects has grown over the years, but there is still a large data gap caused by the absence of sex-disaggregated data. The omission of sex-disaggregated data causes the loss of valuable knowledge on the true effectiveness of current Achilles tendinopathy treatment. The results of this study indicate that women profit less from available treatments, particularly injective approaches, which prompts further research for treatment adaptation by gender. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.

Bone marrow lesions in the knee are associated with meniscal lesions and cartilage pathologies according to the six-letter system.

PURPOSE: This study aims to find a correlation between bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in knee MRI and pathologies of joint structures. In addition, according to the six-letter system classification, the authors analyzed a potential association between the area affected by BMLs and the specific type of joint lesion. METHODS: The authors screened all the knee MRIs performed in the investigation center between 2017 and 2018 to identify the presence of BMLs. The lesions were then categorized following the "six-letter system". The authors searched the presence of associated meniscal, chondral or ligamentous lesions. Finally, the authors researched a correlation between the lesion type described by the six-letter system classification and the associated lesions. RESULTS: MRI exams of 4000 patients were studied, identifying 666 BMLs. The associated lesions were collected for all patients, resulting in an overall prevalence of related lesions in almost 90% of patients. The authors found a statistical significance for type TLD (Tibia-Lateral-Articular) and ACL rupture. The study suggests a strong positive correlation between type E (Edge) and meniscal fracture or extrusion. CONCLUSION: BMLs in the knee are associated in 90% of cases with a radiological sign of related injury to the joint structures. The six-letter system of BMLs type TLD can be considered a sign of ACL rupture and type E as a high suspicious sign for meniscal extrusion. Those very typical BML patterns can help the clinician in the diagnosis of ACL tears and meniscal extrusion. Furthermore, the presence of a BML must be, for the clinician, a high suspicious sign of joint-related injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 1.

Tendinopathy: sex bias starts from the preclinical development of tendon treatments. A systematic review.

Tendinopathies are common overuse disorders that arise both in athletes and the general population. Available tendon treatments are used both for women and men without distinction. However, the existence of a sex-based difference in tendon biology is widely demonstrated. Since basic research represents the foundation for treatment development, an equal female-male representation should be pursued in preclinical studies. This systematic review quantified the current evidence by analyzing 150 studies on 8231 animals. Preclinical studies largely neglected the importance of sex, none analyzed sex-based differences, and only 4% of the studies reported disaggregated data suitable for the analysis of treatment results in males and females. There is an alarming female under-representation, in particular in the field of injective therapies. Despite the growing awareness on the importance of investigating treatments in both males and females, the investigated field proved resistant from properly designing studies including both sexes, and the lack of sex-representation remains critical.

Women Have Tendons and Tendinopathy: Gender Bias is a "Gender Void" in Sports Medicine with a Lack of Women Data on Patellar Tendinopathy-A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Patellar tendinopathy is one of the most common musculoskeletal problems associated with sport. While commonly perceived as a predominantly male problem, recent epidemiological studies revealed that it also affects a large number of sport-active women. The aim of this systematic review was to understand how the available treatments apply to women affected by patellar tendinopathy. METHODS: We analysed the available literature with a systematic review on three databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science) on February 2021, retrieving a total of 136 studies published from 1983. RESULTS: The overall scientific field offers an astonishingly low number of data on treatment results referring to only 78 women (2%) in the entire literature. Only 5% of the retrieved articles considered focusing only or mostly on men to be a limitation. CONCLUSIONS: Women represent only a minority of patients studied for this topic. The few documented cases are further fragmented by being related to different treatments, thus basically offering no solid evidence for results and limitations of any therapeutic approach in women. This literature analysis showed a greater gender gap than what is recognized in science and general medicine; it showed a gender blindness in sports medicine when investigating a common problem like patellar tendinopathy.

One-stage bilateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty is a suitable option vs. the two-stage approach: a meta-analysis.

To compare one-stage vs. two-stage bilateral unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA) in terms of complications, mortality, reinterventions, transfusion rate, days to discharge, and outcomes for the treatment of bilateral mono-compartmental knee osteoarthritis.A systematic review was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases up to February 2021. Randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, and case series describing the use of bilateral UKA were retrieved. A meta-analysis was performed on complications, mortality, reinterventions, transfusion rate, and days to discharge comparing one-stage vs. two-stage replacement, and outcomes were also reported. Assessment of risk of bias and quality of evidence was performed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.Fifteen articles were included on 1451 patients who underwent bilateral UKA (44.9% men, 55.1% women, mean age 66 years). The systematic review documented, for bilateral one-stage UKA: 2.6% major and 5.4% minor complication rates, 0.5% mortality, 1.9% reintervention, 4.1% transfusion rates, and 4.5 mean days to discharge. No studies reported functional differences. The meta-analysis did not find differences for major complications, minor complications, mortality, reintervention, transfusion rates, or days to discharge versus two-stage bilateral procedures. The operative time was 112.3 vs. 125.4 minutes for one-stage and two-stage surgeries, respectively. The overall quality of the retrieved studies was high.Bilateral single-stage UKA is a safe procedure, with a few complications, and overall positive clinical results. No differences were found in terms of complications, mortality, reinterventions, transfusion rate, and days to discharge in comparison with the two-stage approach. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2021;6:1063-1072. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.6.210047.