Pain physician
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Comparing pain reduction following kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures.
Osteoporosis with subsequent osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures is an increasingly important disease due not only to its significant economic impact but also to the increasing age of our population. Pain reduction and stabilization are of primary importance with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Although many patients heal with conservative treatment consisting of rest or activity modification, analgesics, and bracing, the management of severe pain compels some patients to seek surgical intervention via 2 procedures: vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. Although there is abundant support in the literature for both procedures, there remains debate over which procedure can most successfully reduce patients' perception of pain. ⋯ The analysis demonstrates that both procedures reduce the amount of pain in the immediate postoperative period by approximately 50%. Both procedures reduce pain in symptomatic osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures that have failed conservative treatment. Randomized controlled trials are needed to provide definitive data on which procedure is the most effective for vertebral compression fractures.