Comparison of Clinical Outcomes and Radiographic Measurements in 4 Different Treatment Modalities for Osteoporotic Compression Fractures: Retrospective Analysis.

STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database in a tertiary hospital over 10 years.

OBJECTIVE: Treatment for vertebral compression fractures remains an area of controversy with respect to timing and type of surgical management. We analyzed the clinical outcomes and radiographic measurements of 4 different modalities of treatment for these fractures.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: From 2001 to 2011, we analyzed a total of 363 patients after failure of 30 days of conservative management. These patients were then further managed either conservatively or with vertebroplasty, balloon kyphoplasty, or sky bone expander. Outcomes were assessed by using self-report measures: Visual Analog Score; functional measures: Oswestry Disability Index and Short-Form 36; and physiological measures: preoperative and postoperative radiographs.

METHODS: The outcome measures were assessed for 6 months for those treated conservatively and up till 2 years for those treated surgically. Radiographic measurements of the spine were correlated with the clinical outcomes.

RESULTS: A total of 62 patients (12.1%) were treated conservatively, 148 (40.8%) with vertebroplasty, 97 (26.7%) with balloon kyphoplasty, and 56 (15.4%) with sky bone expander. We found significant improvements in Visual Analog Score, Oswestry Disability Index, and Short-Form-36 scores for all groups after 1-month follow-up (P<0.05), with the surgical groups demonstrating a greater improvement in pain scores after the first postoperative day (P<0.0001) when compared with the conservative group. The improvements in outcomes in those treated surgically were sustained for up to 2 years with no significant difference (P>0.05) among the surgical groups. We also found significant improvement (P<0.005) in anterior vertebral and kyphotic wedge angle after surgical intervention.

CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that early surgical intervention allows for quicker pain relief compared with conservative treatment, with similar improvements in anterior vertebral height and kyphotic wedge angle between all 3 groups of surgical management.