Percutaneous vertebroplasty and conservative management for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures:a comparative study

Objective To investigate the better therapeutic measures for painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures(OVCF) through comparing the efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty(PVP) with that of conservative management.Methods Forty-three consecutive patients,encountered from December 2009 to December 2010 in authors' hospital,were enrolled in this study.The patients were divided into PVP group(n = 22) and conservative group(n = 21).Visual analog score(VAS) for pain and Oswestry disability index(ODI) questionnaire scores were assessed before and 1 week,1,3,6,12 months after the treatment.Patients' activity levels and other information,including complications and new fractures after treatment,were also evaluated.Results Before the treatment both the VAS and ODI scores showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Significant reduction of both VAS and ODI was observed in PVP group at 1 week and at 1 and 3 months after the treatment when compared with those in conservative group(P 0.05).Patients' activity levels in PVP group were significantly improved than that in conservative group(P 0.01).One new fracture was observed in the conservative group,while no new fracture was seen in the PVP group.Conclusion Immediate pain relief and improvement of daily activities after PVP can be achieved in all patients.PVP should be considered as the treatment of first choice for symptomatic osteoporotic vertebral fractures.