ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the therapeutic effect and security of CT guided unilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) in senile patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From April 2009 to June 2010, 26 patients undergoing CT guided unilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty were analyzed retrospectively. There were 9 males and 17 females,ranging in age from 60 to 85 years with an average of (67.50+/-6.76) years, ranging in course of disease from 2 to 30 days with an average of (8.92+/-4.36) d. The affected segments involved 35 vertebras. The major clinical manifestations of OVCF were lumbar-back pain (especially when turning over or stooping down) and unable to bear. The needle was punctured into vertebral of lesions through unilateral puncture under the CT guidance; and then 3-5 ml bone cement was injected into vertebral. Antibiotic was used 3 days to prevent postoperative infections. Postoperative complications were observed after operation, such as local leakage of bone cement, penetrating spinal cord and/or segmental spinal nerve injuries and pulmonary embolism. X-ray was used to measure the height of anterior, middle and exterior of vertebral before and after treatment. A visual analog scale (VAS) scoring was applied to evaluate pain score preoperative, 48 hours postoperative and the terminal follow-up.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twenty-six patients achieved success in punctuation without serious complications. Local leakage of bone cement occurred in 6 cases, but without clinical symptoms or signs. One patient suffered from acute intraoperative reactions to bone cement and relieved by 5 mg dexamethasone and oxygen. All patients were followed up for 6 to 12 months [averaged (8.4+/-1.6) months]. The postoperative vertebrae height was higher than preoperative,but there was no statistical difference between postoperative and preoperative (P>0.05). Preoperative VAS scores was 7.63+/-0.92, postoperative score was 3.00+/-1.09, the final follow-up score was 2.38+/-1.17; there was significant difference between preoperative and postoperative at 48 hours (P<0.05), but there was no statistical difference between final follow-up and postoperative at 48 hours (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Unilateral PVP under CT guided can increase the vertebral strength and stabilize vertebral body,and the procedure is a safe and effective method for OVCF in elderly patients.</p>