Clinical efficacy of percutaneous kyphoplasty in management of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral compression fracture in the elderly

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in surgical treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral compression fracture in the elderly. Methods From March 2007 to February 2013, 210 cases (100 males and 110 females; 55-91 years of age, mean 72.5 years) of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture were treated with PKP. Single-segment fracture was observed in 180 cases, two-segment fracture in 20 cases and three-segment fracture in 10 cases. Lesion involved in 250 vertebrae located in the T6-L5 segment. Bone cement injected into each vertebra was 3-5 ml (mean, 4 ml). Treatment effects were assessed with vertebral height, Cobb angle and visual analogue score (VAS). Results At the follow-up of 6-15 months (mean 11 months), thoracic back pain significantly alleviated or disappeared. After operation, improvements were observed in VAS[(8.7±1.2) points vs (2.6±0.7) points], anterior vertebral height loss [(11.0±3.2) mm vs(5.5±0.8) mm], central vertebral height loss [(8.6±1.1) mm vs (3.3±1.0) mm], and Cobb angle [(29.8±4. 5)° vs (16.7±3.4)°] (P <0.01). Four patients appeared no pain or numbness in lower limbs although cement leak into disc. Whereas two patients had lower extremity nerve irritation because of cement leak into the spinal canal and recovered after symptomatic treatment. Conclusion PKP is an effective method for treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture in the elderly, for it can rebuild vertebral height, increase vertebral rigidity as well as stability and relieve thoracic back pain. Key words: Spinal fractures; Osteoporosis; Percutaneous kyphoplasty