Early diagnosis of vertebral fractures

Comparison of the Characteristics of Back Pain in Women with Postmenopausal Osteoporosis with and without Vertebral Compression Fracture: A Retrospective Study at a Single Osteoporosis Center in Poland

Background

The incidence of unspecific back pain and osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures increases significantly with age. Considering the difficulties in the diagnosis of spontaneous osteoporotic vertebral fractures, this retrospective study aimed to compare the characteristics of back pain in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis with and without vertebral compression fractures.

Material/Methods

This study enrolled 334 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis; 150 had vertebral fractures, and 184 had no vertebral fractures. Densitometric vertebral fracture assessment and bone mineral density measurements in the central skeleton were performed for each patient. The participants completed a survey about features of their back pain.

Results

Patients with vertebral fractures had more severe back pain based on the numeric rating scale: 6.14 vs 4.33 (P<0.001, odds ratio [OR]=1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29–1.59). Among these individuals, back pain caused reduction in normal activity during the day (P<0.001, OR=4.68, 95% CI: 2.86–7.68), and pain occurred more often (P<0.001, OR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.47–2.13), lasted longer (P<0.001, OR=2.01, 95% CI: 1.65–2.46), predominantly occurred in the lumbar spine (P<0.001, OR=4.70, 95% CI: 1.96–11.29), and intensified during normal everyday activities (P<0.001). Based on these results, a new survey was created. It demonstrated a sensitivity of 70.67% and a specificity of 67.37% in predicting a current compression fracture.

Conclusions

Patients with vertebral compression fractures experience higher pain intensity and exhibit specific features of back pain. The new survey can be considered a supportive tool in assessing the possibility of vertebral compression fractures.

Imaging of vertebral fractures

Vertebral fracture is a common clinical problem. Osteoporosis is the leading cause of non-traumatic vertebral fracture. Often, vertebral fractures are not clinically suspected due to nonspecific presentation and are overlooked during routine interpretation of radiologic investigations. Moreover, once detected, many a times the radiologist fails to convey to the clinician in a meaningful way. Hence, vertebral fractures are a constant cause of morbidity and mortality. Presence of vertebral fracture increases the chance of fracture in another vertebra and also increases the risk of subsequent hip fracture. Early detection can lead to immediate therapeutic intervention improving further the quality of life. So, in this review, we wish to present a comprehensive overview of vertebral fracture imaging along with an algorithm of evaluation of vertebral fractures.