Refracture of the cemented vertebrae after percutaneous vertebroplasty: risk factors and imaging findings

Predictors for vertebral height deterioration in fractured vertebrae operated by percutaneous vertebroplasty

BACKGROUND

Vertebral height loss of fractured vertebrae treated by percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCFs) during follow-up had been reported. Mostly, vertebral height loss and its relevant terms (e.g., "recompression", "recollapse" and "refracture") were defined according to immediate postoperative vertebral height as the baseline in published studies. By contrast, vertebral height deterioration (VHD) was defined according to preoperative vertebral height as the baseline in the present study. The aim of the study was to reveal predictors for VHD in fractured vertebrae operated by percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), with a specific focus on surgical factors.

METHODS

All patients with OVCFs treated by PVP between April 2016 and September 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were followed up for at least 12 months after procedure according to treatment protocol. VHD was defined as the presence of a decrease of vertebral height at final follow-up compared to preoperative. Clinical, radiological and surgical factors that might affect occurrence of VHD were assessed using univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 543 patients (females 80%, age 73.2 ± 8.1 years) with 681 fractured vertebrae who underwent PVP were enrolled. Mean follow-up time was 28.9 ± 13.4 months (range, 12-59 months). Incidence of VHD in fractured vertebrae was 48.9% (333/681). One clinical factor and four radiological factors, including fracture age (OR = 0.513, 95% CI 0.385-0.683, p = 0.000), fracture location (OR = 2.878, 95% CI 1.994-4.152, p = 0.000), fracture severity (OR = 0.521, 95% CI 0.386-0.703, p = 0.000), cortical defect on lateral wall (OR = 2.535, 95% CI 1.351-4.758, p = 0.004) and intravertebral cleft (OR = 2.362, 95% CI 1.488-3.750, p = 0.000), were independent predictors for VHD. However, all the surgical factors evaluated were not significant in final model analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical factors might play a negligible effect on VHD. VHD might be due to natural course of fracture/osteoporosis.

What Risk Factors Are Associated With Recurrent Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures After Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation? A Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) has been extensively treated clinically using percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA), which includes percutaneous kyphoplasty and percutaneous vertebroplasty. Postoperative refracture is a common complication after PVA, but the associated factors and specific mechanisms behind these fractures are not entirely clear.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

In a systematic review and meta-analysis, we asked: What factors were associated with increased or decreased odds of refracture after PVA for OVCF?

METHODS

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase for the time period from database inception to August 31, 2024 (which also was when we last searched). We included case-control studies in which participants were patients with OVCF and were treated with PVA, grouped into refracture versus non-refracture groups based on the presence or absence of refracture. We excluded studies published on preprint servers, conference reports, case reports, and systematic reviews or meta-analyses. We collected 2398 records in the database. After excluding studies that were duplicates and did not meet the inclusion criteria, we included 22 studies involving 7132 participants, 75% (5368) of whom were women, with a mean age of 76 years for patients in the refracture group and 74 years for patients in the non-refracture group. Quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, with which we assessed three aspects of the study; the mean ± SD score for the included studies was 7.3 ± 0.7 of 9 total (on this scale, higher scores are better), representing generally high study quality. The determination of heterogeneity relied on I2 and chi-square test, and we used a random-effects model when the I2 was > 50% and p ≤ 0.05; otherwise, a fixed-effects model was chosen. According to the Egger test and trim and fill method, publication bias did not significantly affect most of our results.

RESULTS

The combined results showed that older age (mean difference 2.24 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25 to 3.23]; p < 0.001), lower bone mineral density (BMD) (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.72 [95% CI -0.99 to -0.45]; p < 0.001), greater preoperative AP vertebral height ratio (SMD 0.26 [95% CI 0.07 to 0.45]; p = 0.01), greater preoperative kyphotic angle (KA) (SMD 0.47 [95% CI 0.10 to 0.83]; p = 0.01), bone cement leakage (OR 1.39 [95% CI 1.05 to 1.84]; p = 0.02), multivertebral fractures (OR 3.58 [95% CI 2.53 to 5.07]; p < 0.001), smoking (OR 1.53 [95% CI 1.16 to 2.02]; p = 0.003), use of glucocorticoids (OR 3.18 [95% CI 2.09 to 4.84]; p < 0.001), and previous osteoporotic vertebral fracture (OR 2.55 [95% CI 1.58 to 4.13]; p < 0.001) were associated with increased odds of refractures after surgery. Use of antiosteoporosis therapy was associated with a decreased odds of postoperative refracture (OR 0.39 [95% CI 0.24 to 0.64]; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of our meta-analysis, surgeons can identify those who are more likely to have refracture by knowing basic information about their patients preoperatively, such as advanced age, lower BMD, greater preoperative AP ratio, greater preoperative KA, and the presence of multivertebral fractures or previous osteoporotic vertebral fracture. Also, intraoperative reduction of bone cement leakage and postoperative counseling of patients to quit smoking, reduce glucocorticoid use, and administration of antiosteoporosis therapy were used to reduce the probability of refracture. The association between some factors and refracture is uncertain, such as BMI and thoracolumbar fracture, and further studies are needed.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, therapeutic study.

Risk factors for secondary vertebral compression fracture after percutaneous vertebral augmentation: a single-centre retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

To determine the incidence of secondary vertebral compression fracture (SVCF) after percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) and its correlative risk factors, and to provide theoretical evidence for clinical practice.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 288 cases of PVA completed in our hospital from June 2020 to June 2023 was performed, and the patients were divided into the non-secondary vertebral compression fracture group (N-SVCF group) and the secondary vertebral compression fracture group (SVCF group) according to whether SVCF occurred during the postoperative follow-up review. Gender, age, body mass index (BMI), T value of bone mineral density (BMD-T), underlying diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), intravertebral vacuum cleft (IVC), amount of bone cement injected, classification of cement diffusion, anterior vertebral recovery ratio, local Cobb angle correction rate, leakage of bone cement into the intervertebral space, and fat infiltration rate (FIR) of paraspinal muscles were collected from the patients. The incidence and risk factors of SVCF after PVA were evaluated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the predictive value of the independent risk factors was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) to determine the cut-off points at which they were meaningful for the development of SVCF.

RESULTS

In our study, the incidence of SVCF was 14.60% (42/288) in 288 patients who underwent PVA. Univariate analysis showed that age, BMI, fat infiltration rate of paraspinal muscles, cement leakage into the intervertebral space, unilateral/bilateral pedicle puncture approach and presence of IVC were statistically different between N-SVCF and SVCF (P < 0.05). Multifactorial regression analysis and ROC regression analysis revealed that the fat infiltration rate of the psoas major and erector spinae muscles, cement leakage into the intervertebral space, and IVC (P < 0.05) were risk factors for the incident of SVCF after PVA (P < 0.05). Psoas major (FIR) more than 5.490% and erector spinae (FIR) more than 52.413% had a high possibility of the occurrence of SVCF after PVA.

CONCLUSION

In this study, logistic regression combined with ROC curve analysis indicated that FIR of psoas major and erector spinae, cement leakage in the intervertebral space, and IVC were risk factors for the occurrence of SVCF after PVA. Psoas major (FIR) more than 5.490% and erector spinae (FIR) more than 52.413% had a high possibility of the occurrence of SVCF after PVA.

The role and mechanism of β-catenin-mediated skeletal muscle satellite cells in osteoporotic fractures by Jian-Pi-Bu-Shen formula

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease. β-Catenin is associated with fractures. Jian-Pi-Bu-Shen (JPBS) can promote the healing of osteoporotic fractures (OPF). However, the mechanism of β-catenin-mediated skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) in OPF by the JPBS is unclear. SMSCs were isolated and divided into five groups. The results showed that the survival rate of SMSCs was significantly higher in the low, medium, and high dose JPBS-containing serum groups after 7 days of incubation. The ALP activity and the number of SMSCs mineralized in the JPBS-containing serum intervention group were elevated. Axin, GSK-3β, β-catenin siRNAs were constructed and transfected into cells. Transfection of siRNAs reduced Axin, GSK-3β, and β-catenin expressions, respectively. β-Catenin-siRNA reversed ALP activity, the number of SMSCs mineralized, and the expression of β-catenin, BMP2, Runx2, COL-I, SP7/Ostrix, Osteocalcin, and BMP-7. Transcriptomic results suggested that the TNF signaling pathway associated with OPF was enriched. SD rats were subjected to the construction of OPF model by removing the ovaries. JPBS decreased the levels of PINP, ALP, CTX, and NTX through β-catenin in OPF rats, while increasing Runx2, β-catenin expressions through β-catenin at the broken end of fractures. Moreover, JPBS decreased BMC, BMD, and BV/TV and improved pathological damage through β-catenin in OPF rats. JPBS decreased the expression of Axin, GSK-3β mRNA, and protein, but increased the expressions of β-catenin, Pax7, COL-II, COL-II, BMP2, and Runx2 through β-catenin in OPF rats. In conclusion, JPBS inhibits Axin/GSK-3β expression, activates the β-catenin signaling, and promotes the osteogenic differentiation of SMSCs.

Evaluation and analysis of risk factors for adverse events of the fractured vertebra post-percutaneous kyphoplasty: a retrospective cohort study using multiple machine learning models

BACKGROUND

Adverse events of the fractured vertebra (AEFV) post-percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) can lead to recurrent pain and neurological damage, which considerably affect the prognosis of patients and the quality of life. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors of AEFV and develop and select the optimal risk prediction model for AEFV to provide guidance for the prevention of this condition and enhancement of clinical outcomes.

METHODS

This work included 383 patients with primary osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) who underwent PKP. The patients were grouped based on the occurrence of AEFV postsurgery, and data were collected. Group comparisons and correlation analysis were conducted to identify potential risk factors, which were then included in the five prediction models. The performance indicators served as basis for the selection of the best model.

RESULTS

Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the following independent risk factors for AEFV: kissing spine (odds ratio (OR) = 8.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46-49.02), high paravertebral muscle fat infiltration grade (OR = 29.19, 95% CI 4.83-176.04), vertebral body computed tomography value (OR = 0.02, 95% CI 0.003-0.13, P < 0.001), and large Cobb change (OR = 5.31, 95% CI 1.77-15.77). The support vector machine (SVM) model exhibited the best performance in the prediction of the risk of AEFV.

CONCLUSION

Four independent risk factors were identified of AEFV, and five risk prediction models that can aid clinicians in the accurate identification of high-risk patients and prediction of the occurrence of AEFV were developed.

Teriparatide alone versus vertebroplasty on pain control and radiographic outcomes after osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture

PURPOSE

To investigate efficacy of 3-month teriparatide(TPD) and compare this treatment with vertebroplasty in terms of clinical and radiographic outcomes after osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs).

METHODS

This is a retrospective matched cohort study. Patients who received conservative treatment with at least 3-month TPD treatment for acute OVCF with at least 6 months follow-up were included. Each enrolled TPD case was matched with 2 vertebroplasty cases using age and gender. 30 TPD cases and 60 vertebroplasty cases were enrolled. Patient-reported pain scores were obtained at diagnosis and 1, 3, 6 months after diagnosis. Radiographic parameters including middle body height, posterior body height, wedge angle and kyphotic angle were measured at diagnosis and 6 months after diagnosis. Fracture non-union and subsequent vertebral fracture were evaluated.

RESULTS

TPD treatment showed inferior pain relief to vertebroplasty group at 1 month, but did not show difference at 3 and 6 months after diagnosis. In TPD cases, progression of vertebral body collapse was noted in terms of middle body height and wedge angle at final follow up. Instead, both middle body height and wedge angle increased significantly after operation in the vertebroplasty group. Fracture non-union was confirmed via MRI and 4 TPD patients were diagnosed with non-union (4/30, 13.3%). Subsequent compression fracture within 6 months was significant higher in vertebroplasty group (12/60, 20%) than in TPD group (1/30, 3.3%).

CONCLUSION

In acute OVCFs, 3-month TPD treatment alone showed comparable pain improvement and less subsequent spine fracture than vertebroplasty.

Osteoporotic osseointegration: therapeutic hallmarks and engineering strategies

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease caused by an imbalance between bone resorption and formation. Current treatments primarily involve systemic medication and hormone therapy. However, these systemic treatments lack directionality and are often ineffective for locally severe osteoporosis, with the potential for complex adverse reactions. Consequently, treatment strategies using bioactive materials or external interventions have emerged as the most promising approaches. This review proposes twelve microenvironmental treatment targets for osteoporosis-related pathological changes, including local accumulation of inflammatory factors and reactive oxygen species (ROS), imbalance of mitochondrial dynamics, insulin resistance, disruption of bone cell autophagy, imbalance of bone cell apoptosis, changes in neural secretions, aging of bone cells, increased local bone tissue vascular destruction, and decreased regeneration. Additionally, this review examines the current research status of effective or potential biophysical and biochemical stimuli based on these microenvironmental treatment targets and summarizes the advantages and optimal parameters of different bioengineering stimuli to support preclinical and clinical research on osteoporosis treatment and bone regeneration. Finally, the review addresses ongoing challenges and future research prospects.

Percutaneous Curved Vertebroplasty Decrease the Risk of Cemented Vertebra Refracture Compared with Bilateral Percutaneous Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to compare the refracture rate of the cemented vertebral body of percutaneous curved vertebroplasty (PCVP) and bilateral percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF).

Methods

Ninety-four patients with single segment thoracolumbar OVCF were randomly divided into two groups (47 patients in each) and underwent PCVP or bilateral PKP surgery, respectively. Refracture of cemented vertebral body, bone cement injection volume and cement pattern, cement leakage rate, total surgical time, intraoperative fluoroscopy time, preoperative and postoperative Cobb angles and anterior vertebral height, Oswestry disability index questionnaire (ODI) and visual analog scales (VAS) were recorded.

Results

The PCVP group had significantly lower refracture incidence of the cemented vertebral than the bilateral PKP group (p<0.05). There was a significant postoperative improvement in the VAS score and ODI in both group (p<0.01), and no significant difference was found between two groups. The operation time and intraoperative fluoroscopy times were significantly less in the PCVP group than in the bilateral PKP group (p<0.01). The mean kyphosis angle correction and vertebral height restoration in the PCVP group was significantly less than that in the bilateral PKP group (p<0.01).

Conclusion

Both PCVP and PKP were safe and effective treatments for OVCF. The PCVP had lower refracture rate of the cemented vertebral than the bilateral PKP group, and PCVP entailed less exposure to fluoroscopy and shorter operation time than bilateral PKP.

Risk factors for new vertebral compression fracture after vertebroplasty and efficacy of osteoporosis treatment: A STROBE-compliant retrospective study

Vertebroplasty (VP) effectively treats vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). However, the issue of secondary new VCFs (SNVCFs) after VP is yet to be addressed. Therefore, identification of risk factors for SNVCFs after VP may aid the development of strategies to minimize SNVCF risk. This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate risk factors for SNVCFs after VP, including those associated with the type of anti-osteoporotic treatment administered after VP. Data from 128 patients who underwent single-level VP were collected and reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with (n = 28) and without (n = 100) SNVCF within 1 year of VP. We collected the following patient data: age, sex, site of compression fracture, medical history, bone mineral density (BMD), history of long-term steroid use, history of osteoporosis drug use, duration between fracture and VP, VP implementation method (unilateral or bilateral), cement usage in VP, cement leakage into the disc, compression ratio before VP, pre- and postoperative recovery ratio of the lowest vertebral body height, and kyphotic angle of fractured vertebrae. These data were analyzed to identify factors associated with SNVCFs after VP and to investigate the effects of the type of anti-osteoporotic treatment administered for SNVCFs. SNVCFs occurred in 28 patients (21.9%) within 1 year of VP. Logistic regression analysis identified BMD, cement leakage into the disc, and long-term steroid use to be significantly associated with the occurrence of SNVCFs. The group treated with zoledronate after VP had a significantly reduced SNVCF incidence compared with the group treated with calcium (P < .001). In addition, the zoledronate group had a lower SNVCF incidence compared with the groups treated with alendronate (P = .05), selective estrogen receptor modulators (P = .26), or risedronate (P = .22). This study showed that low BMD, presence of an intradiscal cement leak, and long-term steroid use were risk factors for developing SNVCFs following VP. Additionally, among osteoporosis treatments prescribed for VP, zoledronate may be the preferred choice to reduce the risk of SNVCFs.

Bioactive mineralized small intestinal submucosa acellular matrix/PMMA bone cement for vertebral bone regeneration

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement extensively utilized for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures due to its exceptional handleability and mechanical properties. Nevertheless, the clinical application of PMMA bone cement is restricted by its poor bioactivity and excessively high modulus of elasticity. Herein, mineralized small intestinal submucosa (mSIS) was incorporated into PMMA to prepare a partially degradable bone cement (mSIS-PMMA) that provided suitable compressive strength and reduced elastic modulus compared to pure PMMA. The ability of mSIS-PMMA bone cement to promote the attachment, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells was shown through cellular experiments carried out in vitro, and an animal osteoporosis model validated its potential to improve osseointegration. Considering these benefits, mSIS-PMMA bone cement shows promising potential as an injectable biomaterial for orthopedic procedures that require bone augmentation.

Comparison of the effectiveness of different machine learning algorithms in predicting new fractures after PKP for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures

BACKGROUND

The use of machine learning has the potential to estimate the probability of a second classification event more accurately than traditional statistical methods, and few previous studies on predicting new fractures after osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) have focussed on this point. The aim of this study was to explore whether several different machine learning models could produce better predictions than logistic regression models and to select an optimal model.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 529 patients who underwent percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for OVCFs at our institution between June 2017 and June 2020 was performed. The patient data were used to create machine learning (including decision trees (DT), random forests (RF), support vector machines (SVM), gradient boosting machines (GBM), neural networks (NNET), and regularized discriminant analysis (RDA)) and logistic regression models (LR) to estimate the probability of new fractures occurring after surgery. The dataset was divided into a training set (75%) and a test set (25%), and machine learning models were built in the training set after ten cross-validations, after which each model was evaluated in the test set, and model performance was assessed by comparing the area under the curve (AUC) of each model.

RESULTS

Among the six machine learning algorithms, except that the AUC of DT [0.775 (95% CI 0.728-0.822)] was lower than that of LR [0.831 (95% CI 0.783-0.878)], RA [0.953 (95% CI 0.927-0.980)], GBM [0.941 (95% CI 0.911-0.971)], SVM [0.869 (95% CI 0.827-0.910), NNET [0.869 (95% CI 0.826-0.912)], and RDA [0.890 (95% CI 0.851-0.929)] were all better than LR.

CONCLUSIONS

For prediction of the probability of new fracture after PKP, machine learning algorithms outperformed logistic regression, with random forest having the strongest predictive power.

A comparative study of PSPVP and PSIBG in the treatment of stage II–III Kummell’s disease

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) or percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) are commonly employed for Kummell’s disease in stages II–III; however, these techniques produce some complications. OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy and imaging results of percutaneous vertebroplasty + bone cement-augmented short-segment pedicle screw fixation (PSPVP) versus transpedicular intracorporeal bone grafting + pedicle screw fixation (PSIBG) in the treatment of stage II–III Kummell’s disease. METHODS: A total of 69 patients admitted between November 2017 and March 2021 were included in this study; 36 of these were treated with PSPVP, and 33 were treated with PSIBG. Patients in the two groups were compared in terms of perioperative, follow-up, and imaging data. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of operation duration (P > 0.05). However, the PSPVP group was superior to the PSIBG group in terms of incision length, intraoperative blood loss, and length of stay (P < 0.05). All patients were followed up for more than 12 months. The VAS score, height of anterior vertebral margin, kyphosis Cobb angle, wedge angle of the affected vertebra at seven days after surgery and last follow-up, and the ODI index at the last follow-up of the two groups were significantly improved compared with figures before surgery (P < 0.05). Compared with values before surgery, no statistically significant differences were found in the height of the posterior vertebral margin in the PSPVP group at seven days after surgery and at the last follow-up (P > 0.05). There were also no statistically significant differences in the VAS score, ODI index, kyphosis Cobb angle, and wedge angle of the affected vertebra between the two groups at corresponding time points (P > 0.05). The heights of the anterior and posterior vertebral margins in the PSIBG group were better than those in the PSPVP group after surgery and at the last follow-up (P < 0.05). In the PSPVP group, a pedicle screw fracture occurred in one patient two months after surgery, while an upper adjacent vertebral fracture occurred in one patient eight months after surgery. CONCLUSION: Both PSPVP and PSIBG can achieve good early clinical efficacy in the treatment of stage II–III Kummell’s disease, with PSPVP being relatively less invasive while producing a poorer orthopedic effect and more complications than PSIBG.

A retrospective study on the efficacy and safety of bone cement in the treatment of endplate fractures

Background

Endplate fractures is an important factor affecting the curative effect of percutaneous kyphoplasty for spinal fracture. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of sealing endplate fracture with bone cement on minimally invasive treatment of spinal fracture.

Methods

A total of 98 patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures combined with endplate fractures treated with bone cement surgery in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. They were grouped according to whether bone cement was involved in the endplate fractures. Group A: bone cement was not only distributed in the fractured vertebral body, but also dispersed into the endplate fractures. Group B: bone cement was confined to the fractured vertebra but did not diffuse into the cracks of the endplate. The basic information, imaging changes of the fractured vertebral body, VAS score, ODI score, bone cement distribution and postoperative complications of the two groups were analyzed and compared.

Results

The height of the injured vertebra and the kyphotic Cobb angle in the two groups were significantly improved after surgery, but the anterior height of the vertebra in group B was lower than that in group A and the kyphotic Cobb angle was higher than that in group A at the last follow-up (P < 0.05). VAS score and ODI score in 2 groups were significantly improved after operation (P < 0.05), but the VAS score and ODI score in group A were lower than those in group B at the last follow-up (P < 0.05). The incidence of bone cement leakage and adjacent vertebral fracture in group A was higher than that in group B (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Diffusion of bone cement into the cracks of the endplate may also restore and maintain the height of the injured vertebra, relieve pain and restore lumbar function. However, diffusion of bone cement into the cracks of the endplate can increase the incidence of cement leakage and adjacent vertebral fractures.

Study on the influence of balloon dilation mode on the intravertebral cleft of osteoporotic fracture

BACKGROUND

Intravertebral cleft is common in osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture, and the bone sclerosis around the fissure brings difficulties to the surgical treatment. It is not known whether the balloon dilatation mode of percutaneous kyphoplasty affects the distribution of bone cement in the fracture vertebral body and further affects the surgical effect. The purpose of this study was to discuss the effect of balloon dilatation mode on percutaneous kyphoplasty in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures with intravertebral cleft.

METHODS

According to the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria, a retrospective analysis of patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture combined with intravertebral cleft treated by percutaneous kyphoplasty in our hospital was conducted. All patients were divided into two groups based on way of balloon dilation. The mode of balloon dilatation, imaging changes of vertebral body, VAS score, ODI score, bone cement distribution and postoperative complications were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 96 patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture combined with intravertebral cleft were included in the study, including 51 patients treated with single balloon bilateral alternating dilatation technique and 45 patients treated with double balloon bilateral dilatation technique. The vertebral height, Cobb's angle of kyphosis, VAS score and ODI score were significantly improved in both groups after operation (P < 0.05). The postoperative vertebral height and Cobb's angle of kyphosis in the double balloon bilateral dilatation group were better than those in single balloon bilateral alternating dilatation group (P < 0.05). The distribution of bone cement in the single balloon bilateral alternating dilatation group was more inclined to insert filling, while the double balloon bilateral dilatation group was more inclined to fissure filling. The VAS score and ODI score at the final follow-up in the single balloon bilateral alternating dilatation group were lower than those in the double balloon bilateral dilatation group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Double balloon bilateral dilatation technique can better restore the injured vertebral height in patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture combined with intravertebral cleft. However, the distribution of injured vertebral cement in patients with single balloon bilateral alternating dilatation technique is more likely to be inserted and filled, and the long-term analgesia and lumbar function of patients are better.