Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty Reduce Pain Scores

THURSDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty both improve pain scores in patients with vertebral compression fractures, and while vertebroplasty offers the best results, it also carries the greatest risks, according to a review article published in the May/June issue of The Spine Journal.

Jason C. Eck, of the Memorial Hospital in York, Pa., and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 168 studies that compared pain relief outcomes and risk of complications from vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty. The outcome of the studies was measured using the visual analog scale and extent of complications.

The investigators found that vertebroplasty scores improved from 8.36 preoperatively to 2.68 postoperatively, whereas the equivalent scores for balloon kyphoplasty were 8.06 and 3.46, respectively. While vertebroplasty had a 17.9 percent risk of new fracture, kyphoplasty had a 14.1 percent risk, the report indicates. Cement leakage risks were 19.7 percent for vertebroplasty and 7 percent for kyphoplasty.

"There has been a steady increase in the number of studies on vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty," the authors write. "It is hoped that as these techniques continue to become more prevalent, there will be an increased number of prospective, randomized studies to compare them with each other as well as with medical treatment alone," the authors conclude.

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