Vertebroplasty relieves pain and reduces walking problems
Percutaneous vertebroplasty significantly reduces back pain from compression fractures and allows patients to return to their daily routines, according to a recent retrospective study.
Researchers at the University of South Florida interviewed 245 patients from seven university-based and private hospitals in the U.S. who had undergone percutaneous polymethylmethacrylate vertebroplasty.
They asked the patients to rate three qualities both before and after the procedure: · pain on a 10-point scale · ambulation on a five-point scale · ability to perform daily activities on a five-point scale
Patients reported that, on average, pain decreased from 8.9 before vertebroplasty to 3.4 after the procedure. Only 28% of the patients reported substantially impaired ambulation after the treatment compared with 72% who had trouble walking before the procedure. The researchers also reported a significant improvement in the ability to perform daily activities. The results of the study were published in the February issue of Radiology.
?The patients reported very large reductions in pain and substantial improvements in their ability to perform tasks necessary for daily life,? said Dr. Avery J. Evans, a clinical assistant professor of radiology and neurosurgery at the University of South Florida.
The study is the largest to date on vertebroplasty, but it was a relatively short one. While Evans and colleagues followed up patients for an average of seven months, researchers are trying to obtain very long-term follow-up data.
?We would like to have patients followed for several years at the very least,? Evans said.
Because the study wasn?t prospective or randomized, however, the results should be interpreted with some caution.
?We are waiting for randomized trials, but until that time, this study suggests that this procedure is a real option for people with back pain from compression fractures,? Evans said.
For more information from the Diagnostic Imaging archives:
