Table 1 Characteristics of the included studies
References | Design | Patients' diagnosis | Intervention | Sample size (knotted group/knotless group, n) | Age [years, knotted group/knotless group, M ± SD or mean (range)] | Gender (knotted group/knotless group, male/female) | Method/technique of fixation stich | Rotator cuff retraction pattern (**Patte classification) | Rotator cuff fatty infiltration (***Goutallier classification) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hirokazu et al. [17] | Retrospective CT | Full-thickness cuff tears | Knotted group /knotless group | 29/24 | 63.8 ± 8.4/65.1 ± 9.6 | (17/12)/(15/9) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
Şahin et al. [34] | Prospective RCT | Full-thickness rotator cuff tears | Knotted group/knotless group | 42/46 | 54.3 ± 9.8/55.8 ± 8.2 | (12/30)/(20/26) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | 1, 2, 3 | 0, 1, 2, 3 |
Xu et al. [37] | Retrospective CT | *Large full-thickness rotator cuff tears | Knotted group/knotless group | 158/134 | 65.6 ± 8.9/63.9 ± 9.1 | (65/93)/(47/87) | Double-pulley suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | Not mentioned | 0, 1, 2 |
Zwolak et al. [40] | Retrospective CT | Full-thickness rotator cuff tears | Knotted group/knotless group | 64/19 | 61(42–75)/65(52–81) | (35/29)/(11/8) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | 1, 2, 3 | 1, 2, 3 |
Boyer et al. [3] | Prospective CT | Full-thickness supraspinatus tears | Knotted group/knotless group | 38/35 | 58.8 ± 6.3/57.5 ± 6 | (22/16)/(21/14) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | 1, 2, 3 | 0, 1 |
Kim et al. [20] | Prospective CT | Full-thickness supraspinatus or infraspinatus tears 1–4 cm in length in the anterior-to-posterior dimension | Knotted group/knotless group | 50/50 | 59.4 ± 7.45/59.9 ± 7.66 | (28/22)/(24/26) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | 1, 2 | Not mentioned |
Gürpınar et al. [15] | Prospective CT | *Medium- (1–3 cm) and large-sized tears (3–5 cm) | Knotted group/knotless group | 64/57 | 56.7 ± 7.7/56.6 ± 7.0 | (32/32)/(23/34) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | 1, 2 | 0, 1, 2 |
Nemirov et al. [28] | Retrospective CT | Rotator cuff tears | Knotted group/knotless group | 117/72 | 59.2 ± 8.5/55.1 ± 8.6 | (82/35)/(38/34) | Traditional suture-bridge repair: knotted method versus knotless method | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
Heuberer et al. [16] | Prospective CT | Full-tendon full-thickness supraspinatus tears and partial tendon full-thickness infraspinatus tears (2.0–3.5 cm) | Knotted group/knotless group | 20/17 | 64.8 ± 7.7/62.8 ± 9.8 | (10/10)/(5/12) | Traditional suture-bridge technique with knotted medial row versus knotless double-layer transosseous equivalent repair technique (cinch-bridge) | Not mentioned | 0, 1, 2, 3 |
Rhee et al. [33] | Retrospective CT | *Medium-sized tears | Knotted group/knotless group | 59/51 | 57.6 (45–70) /61.0 (44–68) | (30/29)/(30/21) | Traditional suture-bridge technique with knotted medial row versus knotless medial row suture-bridge technique using Mason-Allen stich for medial row fixation | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |