This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Letters to the Editor: Submit a response Letters to the Editor: View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Prather, H. Articles by Gilula, L. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Prather, H. Articles by Gilula, L. A. Related Collections Spine Social Bookmarking             What's this?

Prospective Measurement of Function and Pain in Patients with Non-Neoplastic Compression Fractures Treated with Vertebroplasty

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 1 Barnes-Jewish Hospital Plaza Drive, Suite 11300 West Pavilion, St. Louis, MO 63110
² Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Boulevard, Box 8502, St. Louis, MO 63108
³ Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110

Investigation performed at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

The authors did not receive grants or outside funding in support of their research for or preparation of this manuscript. They did not receive payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, educational institution, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the authors are affiliated or associated.

Methods: Fifty patients were recruited at a tertiary university hospital. Patients had been treated for intractable pain due to osteoporotic compression fracture(s) for at least four weeks. The vertebroplasty procedures were performed by a radiologist. The subjects were followed prospectively for one year and received conservative treatment in conjunction with the vertebroplasty. Validated outcome tools, including a visual analog scale, the Oswestry scale, and the Roland-Morris functional activity questionnaire, were used to evaluate changes in pain and functional capabilities.

Results: Fifty patients, thirty-one women and nineteen men (mean age, 68.6 years), were followed prospectively for one year. One hundred and three fractures (fifty-nine thoracic and forty-four lumbar) were treated. The visual analog scale showed the greatest improvement between the baseline score (mean, 7.76) and the score at one month (mean, 2.9), and the score remained improved at one year (mean, 2.9). The Oswestry and Roland-Morris questionnaires demonstrated significant (p < 0.0001) functional improvement between the baseline and one-month scores. With the numbers available, there were no significant changes in any variable from one month to one year (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Vertebroplasty is an effective treatment for patients with intractable pain due to osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Improvement in pain scores and functional capabilities that were found at one month were maintained at one year.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Banerjee, M. O. Baerlocher, and M. R. Asch Back stab: Percutaneous vertebroplasty for severe back pain Can Fam Physician, July 1, 2007; 53(7): 1169 - 1175. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K.F. Layton, K.R. Thielen, C.A. Koch, P.H. Luetmer, J.I. Lane, J.T. Wald, and D.F. Kallmes Vertebroplasty, First 1000 Levels of a Single Center: Evaluation of the Outcomes and Complications AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., April 1, 2007; 28(4): 683 - 689. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C.A. Koch, K.F. Layton, and D.F. Kallmes Outcomes of Patients Receiving Long-Term Corticosteroid Therapy Who Undergo Percutaneous Vertebroplasty AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., March 1, 2007; 28(3): 563 - 566. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. A. Cole and M. Bhandari What's New in Orthopaedic Trauma J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., November 1, 2006; 88(11): 2545 - 2561. [Full Text] [PDF]

Letters to the Editor:

Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press (TM) assists in the publication of JBJS Online.
Copyright © 2006 by The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc. Online ISSN: 1535-1386.
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery®, JBJS®, JB&JS®, and eJBJS® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.