RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of intra-articular injection of bone marrow concentrate (BMC) under ultrasound (US) guidance in the treatment of patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA), with clinical and volumetric magnetic resonance (MR) imaging follow-up. METHODS: This retrospective study included 96 consecutive patients referred for US-guided intra-articular injection of BMC for symptomatic patellofemoral OA for which conservative treatment had failed. A control group of 21 patients with symptomatic patellofemoral OA was included for comparison. Data on International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores as well as volumetric MR imaging (using T2 mapping sequence) were collected before and 12 months after injection, and the results were compared. RESULTS: No technical adverse events were noted during bone marrow aspiration, BMC preparation, or intra-articular injection of BMC. No clinical adverse events were reported during long-term follow-up. All mean scores improved between baseline and 12 months after intra-articular injection of BMC (VAS 5.5 to 3.6, P < .0001; WOMAC 36.8 to 22.2, P < .0001; and IKDC 41.8 to 58.2, P < .0001). MR imaging at 1 year of follow-up after BMC treatment showed no statistically significant difference in hyaline cartilage volume compared with that at the baseline (P = .690), suggesting stabilization of the cartilage degradation process. In contrast, the group of untreated patients showed a significant decrease in the cartilage volume (P = .001), corresponding to a cartilage loss of 6.9%. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that intra-articular injection of BMC under US guidance could be a promising option for the treatment of symptomatic patellofemoral OA and could promote the preservation of healthy residual cartilage volume.