Remission is not maintained over 2 years with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Figure 1 Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses flow diagram of the included studies. ¹List of excluded studies given in Supplementary File 2.

Figure 2 Transition trend of American College of Rheumatology criteria in the included studies across various time points.

Figure 3 Forest plot. A: Analysis of results of included studies at various time points following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in comparison to their pre-operative status of rheumatoid arthritis using a random binary effects model; B: Sub-group analysis of the results based on the nature of HSCT (autologous and allogeneic types); C: Major complications noted in the included studies.

Figure 4 Potential areas of future research to optimize hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Q1 is to evaluate whether stem cell rescue is necessary after high dose immune ablation; Q2 is to assess the ideal source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs); Q3 deals with either autologous or allogeneic source; Q4 deals with the need for T cell depletion from the harvested material; Q5 probes into the ideal conditioning regimen; and Q6 evaluates the ideal timing of HSC transplantation in the course of the disease. HSC: Hematopoietic stem cell.