BACKGROUND:Whether there is a necessary connection or internal patterns between the amount of bone cement-recovery of vertebral height-clinical efficacy has no evidence-based medicine findings in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures using percutaneous vertebroplasty with high-viscosity bone cement injection.
OBJECTIVE: To observe the change of vertebral height in the elderly with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures after percutaneous vertebroplasty with high-viscosity bone cement injection.
METHODS:A total of 110 elderly patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (139 vertebrae) were admitted at the Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from January 2011 to December 2012. Al the patients received percutaneous vertebroplasty by the same group of surgeons. Bone cement at drawing stage was injected into the fractured vertebra. During the 12-month folow-up, visual analogue scale, Barthel index and vertebral height restoration were observed as evaluation indexes.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The surgical treatment was done successfuly in the 110 patients (139 vertebrae). The amount of bone cement per vertebra was 3-6 mL, with a mean of 3.5 mL. At 12 months after surgery, the visual analog scale scores were decreased from 7.9 to 1.8, Barthel index was increased from 40.25 to 82.21, both of which were improved significantly (P < 0.05). After surgery, the vertebral heights at the anterior and middle parts were increased by (81.25±9.26)% and (78.22±10.65)%, respectively, and there was significant differences before ant at 24 hours, 3 months and 12 months after surgery (P < 0.05). During the folow-up, there were five vertebrae with bone cement leakage, but no clinical symptoms occurred, and no nerve injury or pulmonary embolism happened. These findings indicate that percutaneous vertebroplasty with high-viscosity bone cement injection can effectively relieve pain, restore the vertebral height, reduce the incidence of complications and shorten the recovery time in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.