Journal of Clinical Medicine
Needle Arthroscopy in Orthopedic Practice: Clinical Applications, Evidence Architecture, and Translational Gaps—A Scoping Review
By Hubert Makowski, Piotr Łukowiak, Karolina Michno and 8 others.
Abstract
Background
Needle arthroscopy can alter not only portal size but also the diagnostic and treatment pathway by enabling direct visualization under local anesthesia and selected limited interventions. Its diffusion across joints, however, may be outpacing clinical validation.
Methods
This PRISMA-ScR-guided review mapped PubMed/MEDLINE-indexed primary publications from database inception through 31 July 2026. The quantitative flow is therefore an auditable but incomplete evidence map rather than a complete census of the technology; studies indexed exclusively outside PubMed may have been missed. Backward reference-list screening was used as a completeness check, while earlier Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane histories were retained as sensitivity sources and not pooled into the quantitative flow. Two reviewers independently screened and charted records using a shared form. Reports were de-duplicated by PMID, DOI, and normalized title and characterized by anatomy, design, application, platform, outcomes, harms reporting, study-design hierarchy, and principal methodological limitation. Technical or cadaveric feasibility was analyzed separately from clinical and comparative evidence.
