Objective To analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of inpatients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) and provide a basis for clinical prevention and treatment. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 744 inpatients diagnosed with OVCF between January 2017 and December 2021 who met the inclusion criteria. Among them, 146 were male and 598 were female, with age ranging from 50 to 95 years (mean, 69.37 years). The demographic characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, regional distribution, urban-rural distribution, and seasonal incidence) and clinical features [causes of injury, history of vertebral fractures, smoking and drinking history in males, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, cerebral infarction), body mass index (BMI), blood lipid levels, menopausal age in females, vertebral bone mineral density T-value, number of vertebral fractures, and fracture segment distribution] of OVCF patients were analyzed. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of vertebral osteoporosis. Results The demographic analysis indicated that female patients with OVCF were significantly younger than male patients (P<0.05). Significant differences were observed in the age distribution of OVCF between males and females (P<0.05), with the highest proportion of male patients in the 70-79 years group (37.0%) and the highest proportion of female patients in the 60-69 years group (40.0%). From 2017 to 2021, the age of onset for OVCF gradually increased, with a similar trend observed for both genders. The distribution of occupations between genders also showed significant differences (P<0.05); with the top three occupations for males being farmers (48.6%), retirees (24.7%), and workers (13.7%), while for females, the leading occupations were farmers (51.5%), retirees (19.4%), and service workers (10.0%). Female OVCF patients had higher BMI, vertebral bone mineral density T-value, history of vertebral fractures, hypertension prevalence, and blood lipid levels compared to male patients (P<0.05). No significant difference between the males and the females was found in ethnicity, seasonal distribution, regional distribution, urban-rural distribution, causes of injury, number of vertebral fractures, or prevalence of comorbidities (except hypertension) (P>0.05). Among the 744 OVCF patients, a total of 1 309 vertebrae were involved, with 628 thoracic vertebrae (48.0%) and 681 lumbar vertebrae (52.0%). The most common fracture segments were L1 (22.5%), T12 (21.2%), followed by L2 (12.2%) and T11 (10.2%). No significant gender difference was observed in the distribution of fracture segments (P>0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that older age, female, and lower BMI were independent risk factors for vertebral osteoporosis (P<0.05). ConclusionThe age of onset of OVCF patients is increasing year by year. The number of fractured vertebral bodies, age distribution of morbidity, occupational distribution, BMI, history of vertebral fracture, hypertension, and blood lipid levels are related to gender. The occurrence of OVCF is mainly in the thoracolumbar segment. The female, older age, and lower BMI are independent risk factors of osteoporosis.
Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) are common in elderly patients with reduced bone density. Pain and loss of function after fractures have a serious impact on the patient's activities of daily living and quality of life. Management of patients with early OVCFs who choose non-surgical treatment is necessary to prevent complications, relieve pain, and improve functional status. This paper focuses on the development of OVCFs non-surgical management in many aspects, which may provide reference for the rapid recovery of OVCFs patients in the process of non-surgical management.
Objective To investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) treated by percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). MethodsThe clinical and imaging data of 681 patients with thoracolumbar OVCF treated with PVP between January 2017 and December 2021 were collected. The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the patients with thoracolumbar OVCF in single center were summarized from the aspects of demographic distribution (mainly including gender, age), fracture characteristic analysis [including pathological segments, bone mineral density, and body mass index (BMI)], and operation related results (including the distribution of unilateral and bilateral puncture and bone cement injection, postoperative effectiveness analysis and refracture). ResultsOf the 681 patients, 134 (19.68%) were male and 547 (80.32%) were female, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶4.08. The age ranged from 53 to 105 years, with an average of 75.3 years. The age group of 60-90 years old had the largest number of patients (91.04%); the high incidence age group of men was 70-90 years old (13.95%), and that of women was 60-80 years old (72.98%). A total of 836 vertebrae were involved, and the morbidity of thoracolumbar vertebrae (T11-L1) was the highest (56.34%, 471/836). The main type of fracture was compression fracture (92.58%, 774/836) and Kümmell disease (7.42%, 62/836). There were 489 cases (71.81%) of osteoporosis, including 66 males and 423 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶6.42. There was significant difference in distribution of bone mineral density between male and female groups (Z=–5.810, P<0.001). BMI showed 206 cases (30.25%) of underweight, 347 (50.95%) cases of normal, 58 cases (8.52%) of overweight, 42 cases (6.17%) of obese, and 28 cases (4.11%) of extremely obese. The difference in BMI distribution between male and female groups was significant (Z=–2.220, P=0.026). Of 836 vertebral bodies, 472 (56.46%) were punctured unilaterally and 364 (43.54%) bilaterally. Most of the vertebral bodies (49.88%, 417/836) were injected with 5.0-6.9 mL bone cement, and most of them were distributed in thoracolumbar and lumbar vertebral bodies (T11-L3). The visual analogue scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) of patients with unilateral puncture and bilateral puncture significantly improved at 6 months after operation (P<0.001), and also the difference was significant between the two groups in the difference of pre- and post-operation (P<0.001). There were 628 cases (92.22%) with the first occurrence of OVCF, and 53 cases (7.78%) with two or more times of OVCF, all of which were female patients, and 26 cases (49.06%) occurred in the adjacent segment of the previous PVP operation. ConclusionFemale were more than male in OVCF patients. Thoracolumbar vertebral body has the highest morbidity. Patients with low BMI are more likely to have osteoporosis, and patients with high BMI have a higher risk of compression fracture. The amount of bone cement injected through bilateral puncture was greater than that through unilateral puncture.
Objective To explore the feasibility and effectiveness of vertebroplasty with reverse designed unilateral targeted puncture in treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) by comparing with curved unilateral puncture. Methods A total of 52 patients with OVCF met selection criteria and were admitted between January 2019 and June 2021 were selected as the research objects. According to the random number table method, they were divided into two groups (n=26). In trial group, the reverse designed unilateral targeted puncture was used in the percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP); while the control group used the curved unilateral puncture. There was no significant difference in gender, age, bone mineral density (T value), cause of injury, time from injury to operation, the level of responsible vertebral body, pedicle diameter of the planned puncture vertebral body, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score, anterior vertebral height, and Cobb angle between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time, bone cement injection volume and leakage, intraoperative radiation exposure times, and hospitalization costs in the two groups were recorded. VAS score was used to evaluate the relief degree of low back pain after operation. X-ray film was used to review the diffusion degree of bone cement in the responsible vertebral body, and Cobb angle and anterior vertebral height were measured. Results The operation was successfully completed in the two groups. Patients in the two groups were followed up 12-18 months, with an average of 13.6 months. The operation time, volume of injected bone cement, intraoperative radiation exposure times, and hospitalization costs in the trial group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). With the prolongation of time, the low back pain of the two groups gradually relieved, and the VAS score significantly decreased (P<0.05). And there was no significant difference in VAS score between the two groups at each time point (P>0.05). There were 2 cases (7.6%) of bone cement leakage in the trial group and 3 cases (11.5%) in the control group, and no significant difference was found in the incidence of bone cement leakage and the diffusion degree of bone cement between the two groups (P>0.05). Imaging examination showed that compared with pre-operation, the anterior vertebral height of the two groups significantly increased and Cobb angle significantly decreased at 2 days and 1 year after operation (P<0.05); while compared with 2 days before operation, the anterior vertebral height of the two groups significantly decreased and Cobb angle significantly increased at 1 year after operation (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the above indexes between the two groups at different time points after operation (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with curved unilateral puncture, the use of reverse designed unilateral targeted puncture during PVP in the treatment of OVCF can not only achieve similar effectiveness, but also has the advantages of less radiation exposure, shorter operation time, and less hospitalization costs.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility and short-term effectiveness of bilateral percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty through unilateral transverse process-extrapedicular approach for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) of lumbar.MethodsA retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 93 patients with OVCF of lumbar who met the selection criteria between January 2018 and June 2019. According to the different surgical methods, they were divided into group A (44 cases, treated with bilateral percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty through unilateral transverse process-extrapedicular approach) and group B [49 cases, treated with percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) via bilateral transpedicle approach]. There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, T value of bone mineral density, injury cause, fractured level, time from injury to operation, comorbidities, and preoperative Cobb angle of injured vertebra, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and Oswestry disability index (ODI) between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy times, bone cement injection amount, and incidence of bone cement leakage were recorded and compared between the two groups; Cobb angle of the injured vertebrae, VAS score, and ODI were measured before operation, at 2 days and 1 year after operation. The contralateral distribution ratio of bone cement was calculated according to the anteroposterior X-ray film at 2 days after operation.ResultsThe operation time and the intraoperative fluoroscopy times in group A were significantly less than those in group B (P<0.05). There was no bone cement adverse reactions, cardiac and cerebrovascular adverse events, and no complications such as puncture needles erroneously inserted into the spinal canal and nerve injuries occurred in the two groups. Bone cement leakage occurred in 6 cases and 8 cases in groups A and B, respectively, all of which were asymptomatic paravertebral or intervertebral leakage, and no intraspinal leakage occurred; the bone cement injection amount and incidence of bone cement leakage between the two groups showed no significant differences (P>0.05). The contralateral distribution ratio of bone cement in group A was significantly lower than that in group B (t=2.685, P=0.009). Patients in both groups were followed up 12-20 months, with an average of 15.3 months. The Cobb angle of the injured vertebrae, VAS score, and ODI in the two groups were significantly improved at 2 days after operation, however, the Cobb angle of the injured vertebra at 1 year after operation was significantly lost when compared with the 2 days after operation, the VAS score and ODI at 1 year after operation were significantly further improved when compared with the 2 days after operation, the differences were all significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the Cobb angle of the injured vertebrae, VAS score, and ODI between the two groups at each time point after operation (P>0.05).ConclusionBilateral percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty through unilateral transverse process-extrapedicular approach is comparable to bilateral PKP in short-term effectiveness with regard to fracture reduction, reduction maintenance, pain relief, and functional improvement. It has great advantages in reducing operation time and radiation exposure, although it is inferior in bone cement distribution.
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of Confidence high viscosity bone cement system and postural reduction in treating acute severe osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF). Methods Between June 2004 and June2009, 34 patients with acute severe OVCF were treated with Confidence high viscosity bone cement system and postural reduction. There were 14 males and 20 females with an average age of 72.6 years (range, 62-88 years). All patients had single thoracolumbar fracture, including 4 cases of T11, 10 of T12, 15 of L1, 4 of L2, and 1 of L3. The bone density measurement showed that T value was less than —2.5. The time from injury to admission was 2-72 hours. All cases were treated with postural reduction preoperatively. The time of reduction in over-extending position was 7-14 days. All patients were injected unilaterally. The injected volume of high viscosity bone cement was 2-6 mL (mean, 3.2 mL). Results Cement leakage was found in 3 cases (8.8%) during operation, including leakage into intervertebral space in 2 cases and into adjacent paravertebral soft tissue in 1 case. No cl inical symptom was observed and no treatment was pearformed. No pulmonary embolism, infection, nerve injury, or other complications occurred in all patients. All patients were followed up 12-38 months (mean, 18.5 months). Postoperatively, complete pain rel ief was achievedin 31 cases and partial pain refief in 3 cases; no re-fracture or loosening at the interface occurred. At 3 days after operation and last follow-up, the anterior and middle vertebral column height, Cobb angle, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score were improved significantly when compared with those before operation (P lt; 0.05)；and there was no significant difference between 3 days and last follow-up (P gt; 0.05). Conclusion Confidence high viscosity bone cement system and postural reduction can be employed safely in treating acute severe OVCF, which has many merits of high viscosity, long time for injection, and easy-to-control directionally.
ObjectiveTo compare the refracture risk between sandwich vertebrae and ordinary adjacent vertebrae, and to explore the risk factors related to refracture.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed on the data of patients who received percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) and formed sandwich vertebrae between April 2015 and October 2019. Of them, 115 patients were enrolled in the study. There were 27 males and 88 females with an average age of 73.9 years (range, 53-89 years). Univariate analysis was performed to analyzed the patients’ general data, vertebral augmentation related indexes, and sandwich vertebrae related indexes. Survival analysis was performed for all untreated vertebrae at T4-L5 of the included patients at the vertebra-specific level, and risk curves of refracture probability of untreated vertebrae between sandwich vertebrae and ordinary adjacent vertebrae were compared. Cox’s proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze risk factors for refracture.ResultsThe 115 patients were followed up 12.6-65.9 months (mean, 36.2 months). Thirty-seven refractures involving 51 vertebral bodies occurred in 31 patients. The refracture rate of 27.0% (31/115) in patients with sandwich vertebrae was significantly higher than that of 15.2% (187/1228) in all patients who received PVA during the same period (χ2=10.638, P=0.001). Univariate analysis results showed that there was a significant difference in the number of augmented vertebrae between patients with and without refractures (Z=0.870, P=0.004). However, there was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, whether had clear causes of fracture, whether had dual energy X-ray absorptiometry testing, whether the sandwich vertebra generated through the same PVA, puncture method, method of PVA, number of PVA procedures, number of vertebrae with old fracture, whether complicated with spinal deformity, bone cement distribution, and kyphosis angle of sandwich vertebral area (P>0.05). Among the 1 293 untreated vertebrae, there were 136 sandwich vertebrae and 286 ordinary adjacent vertebrae. The refracture rate of sandwich vertebrae was 11.3% which was higher than that of ordinary adjacent vertebrae (6.3%)(χ2=4.668, P=0.031). The 1- and 5-year fracture-free probabilities were 0.90 and 0.87 for the sandwich vertebrae, and 0.95 and 0.93 for the ordinary adjacent vertebrae, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two risk curves of refracture (χ2=4.823, P=0.028). Cox’s proportional hazards regression model analysis results showed that the sandwich vertebrae, thoracolumbar location, the number of the augmented vertebrae, and the unilateral puncture were significant risk factors for refracture (P<0.05).ConclusionThe sandwich vertebrae has a higher risk of refracture when compared with the ordinary adjacent vertebrae, and its 1- and 5-year fracture-free probabilities are lower than those of the ordinary adjacent vertebrae. However, the 5-year fracture-free probability of sandwich vertebrae is still 0.87, so prophylactic enhancement is not recommended for all sandwich vertebrae. In addition, the sandwich vertebrae, thoracolumbar location, the number of the augmented vertebrae, and the unilateral puncture were important risk factors for refracture.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in hyperextension position for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) with vacuum phenomenon. Methods Between April 2004and August 2009, 35 patients who suffered from OVCF with vacuum phenomenon were treated with PKP in hyperextension position, 8 patients were excluded because of lost follow-up. In 27 follow-up cases, there were 9 males and 18 females with an average age of 75 years (range, 58-90 years) and with an average disease duration of 9.8 months (range, 2-17 months). One vertebral body was involved in 26 cases and 2 vertebral bodies were involved in 1 case. According to the imaging examination and Krauss et al. criterion, all patients were diagnosed as having vertebral vacuum phenomenon. Refer to the lateral X-ray views, the height and the kyphotic angle of the involved vertebral body were measured pre- and postoperatively. The surgical outcomes were evaluated by using visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disabil ity index (ODI) system. Results All operations were performed successfully with no severe compl ication. The mean follow-up of 27 patients was 32 months (range, 24-58 months). The mean cl inical heal ing time of OVCF was 4 months (range, 3-6 months). The VAS score, ODI system, anterior and medial height of involved vertebral body, kyphotic angle of involved vertebral body were improved significantly at 1 week after operation and at last follow-up (P lt; 0.05); there was no significant difference between at 1 week after operation and at last follow-up (P gt; 0.05). There was no significant difference in the posterior height of involved vertebral body among different postoperative time-points (P gt; 0.05). Asymptomatic cement leakage occurred in 3 patients. Adjacent vertebral fracture occurred in 1 patient at 7 months. Intravertebral vacuums showed a compact and sol id cement fill ing pattern. Conclusion PKP in hyperextension position can significantly rel ieve back pain, restore vertebral height, and correct local kyphosis in the treatment of OVCF with vacuum phenomenon.
Objective To investigate the effects of different puncture levels on bone cement distribution and effectiveness in bilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty for osteoporotic thoracolumbar compression fractures. Methods A clinical data of 274 patients with osteoporotic thoracolumbar compression fractures who met the selection criteria between December 2017 and December 2020 was retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent bilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty. During operation, the final position of the puncture needle tip reached was observed by C-arm X-ray machine. And 118 cases of bilateral puncture needle tips were at the same level (group A); 156 cases of bilateral puncture needle tips were at different levels (group B), of which 87 cases were at the upper 1/3 layer and the lower 1/3 layer respectively (group B1), and 69 cases were at the adjacent levels (group B2). There was no significant difference in gender, age, fracture segment, degree of osteoporosis, disease duration, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and Oswestry disability index (ODI) between groups A and B and among groups A, B1, and B2 (P>0.05). The operation time, bone cement injection volume, postoperative VAS score, ODI, and bone cement distribution were compared among the groups. Results All operations were successfully completed without pulmonary embolism, needle tract infection, or nerve compression caused by bone cement leakage. There was no significant difference in operation time and bone cement injection volume between groups A and B or among groups A, B1, and B2 (P>0.05). All patients were followed up 3-32 months, with an average of 7.8 months. There was no significant difference in follow-up time between groups A and B and among groups A, B1, and B2 (P>0.05). At 3 days after operation and last follow-up, VAS score and ODI were significantly lower in group B than in group A (P<0.05), in groups B1 and B2 than in group A (P<0.05), and in group B1 than in group B2 (P<0.05). Imaging review showed that the distribution of bone cement in the coronal midline of injured vertebrae was significantly better in group B than in group A (P<0.05), in groups B1 and B2 than in group A (P<0.05), and in group B1 than in group B2 (P<0.05). In group A, 7 cases had postoperative vertebral collapse and 8 cases had other vertebral fractures. In group B, only 1 case had postoperative vertebral collapse during follow-up. ConclusionBilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty in the treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar compression fractures can obtain good bone cement distribution and effectiveness when the puncture needle tips locate at different levels during operation. When the puncture needle tips locate at the upper 1/3 layer and the lower 1/3 layer of the vertebral body, respectively, the puncture sites are closer to the upper and lower endplates, and the injected bone cement is easier to connect with the upper and lower endplates.
ObjectiveTo investigate the risk factors of adjacent fractures after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF).MethodsA total of 2 216 patients who received PVP due to symptomatic OVCF between January 2014 and January 2017 and met the selection criteria were selected as study subjects. The clinical data was collected, including gender, age, height, body mass, history of smoking and drinking, whether the combination of hypertension, diabetes, coronary arteriosclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bone mineral density, the number of fractured vertebrae, the amount of cement injected into single vertebra, the cement leakage, and whether regular exercise after operation, whether regular anti-osteoporosis treatment after operation. Firstly, single factor analysis was performed on the observed indicators to preliminarily screen the influencing factors of adjacent fractures after PVP. Then, logistic regression analysis was carried out for relevant indicators with statistical significance to screen risk factors.ResultsAll patients were followed up 12-24 months, with an average of 15.8 months. Among them, 227 patients (10.24%) had adjacent fractures. The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the fracture group and non-fracture group in age, gender, preoperative bone density, history of smoking and drinking, COPD, the number of fractured vertebrae and the amount of bone cement injected into the single vertebra, as well as regular exercise after operation, regular anti-osteoporosis treatment after operation (P<0.05). Further multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the elderly and female, history of smoking, irregular exercise after operation, irregular anti-osteoporosis treatment after operation, low preoperative bone density, large number of fractured vertebrae, and small amount of bone cement injected into the single vertebra were risk factors for adjacent fractures after PVP in OVCF patients (P<0.05).ConclusionThe risk of adjacent fractures after PVP increases in elderly, female patients with low preoperative bone mineral density, large number of fractured vertebrae, and insufficient bone cement injection. The patients need to quit smoking, regular exercise, and anti-osteoporosis treatment after PVP.