Response of pain beyond the osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture to percutaneous vertebral augmentation

Objective To determine the prevalence of pain beyond the osteoporotic vertebral com-pression fracture (OVCF) in patients undergoing percutaneous vertebral augmentation and the response of pain to the treatment. Methods A retrospective study of 104 patients undergoing percutaneous vertebral augmentation (pereutaneous vertebroplasty and pereutaneous kyphoplasty) was performed to examine the lo-cations and severities of pain beyond the OVCF before and after operation. The Visual Analog Sscale (VAS,10-point scale) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL, 5-point scale) were used. Results Of the 104 patients, 48 (46.2%) suffered pain beyond the OVCF. The pain was firstly located in the sacrococeygeal region and buttocks (26.0%), secondly in the abdomen and sub-xiphoid process (10.6%) and thirdly in the flank, ribs and chest (9.6%) . For all the cases, the mean VAS score decreased from 8.9±0. 8 before vertebral augmentation to 2.9±1.4 after augmentation (t=37.410, P=0.000), and the mean ADL score decreased from 4.1±0.6 before operation to 2.0±0.7 after operation (t=25.331, P =0.000) . For the patients suffering pain beyond the OVCF, the mean VAS score decreased from 8.8±0.9 before vertebral augmentation to 2.8±1.5 after augmentation (t=23.722, P=0.000), and the mean ADL score decreased from 4.2±0.7 before operation to 2.0±0. 7 after operation (t=15.373, P=0.000). The decreases in VAS and ADL scores were not affected by the pain. Conclusion The pereutaneous vertebral augmentation can effectively relieve the pain beyond the OVCF. Key words: Osteoporosis;  Spinal fracture;  Pain