AUTOLOGOUS STEM CELLS COMBINED WITH CORE DECOMPRESSION ON PATIENTS WITH OSTEONECROSIS OF THE FEMORAL HEAD

Background: This study aimed to investigate the clinical value of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells combined with core decompression (CD) for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Methods: 40 patients with ONFH were randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group with 20 cases in each. Patients in the control group underwent single CD, while those in the experimental group received bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells combined with CD. Comprehensive evaluations were performed of postoperative inflammation indexes, Harris score, visual analogue score, postoperative curative effect, postoperative necrosis index, etc. Result: For patients in the experimental group 6 and 12 months after surgery, the Harris scores (85 .56 +/- 2 .03 points, 90.44 +/- 1.78 points) were significantly higher than those in the control group. Visual analogue scores (2.05 +/- 0.53 points, 1.49 +/- 0.57 points) were lower than those in the control group. Improvement of joint function, extended walking distance, and excellent treatment rate (15 cases, 17 cases, 95%) were also significantly better than those in the control group (10 cases, 12 cases, 85%). There were 13, 6, and 1 case in the experimental group with low, medium, and high risks, respectively; 95% of which were with the low-to-medium risk. These were better than the 8 cases, 8 cases, 4 cases, and 80% in the control group. All the differences above were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Thus, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells combined with CD had excellent clinical effects on ONFH.