ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare a large cohort of patients with vertebral compression fractures (VCF) treated in 2 centers using different protocols (conservative vs BKP) and compare mortality rates on a long-term follow-up. METHODS: Retrospective cohort held in 2 medical centers (W and AH). All patients admitted with VCF from November 2008 to January 2015 were enrolled in the study. Exclusion criteria were patients admitted with non-osteoporotic pathological fractures (such as metastatic or MM). RESULTS: Our study included 208 patients treated for VCF, 127 were treated with BKP (88 females, 69.3%) and 81 were treated conservatively (59 females, 72.8%). Patients from Centre W were older and frailer compared to the patients from AH center (Average age 75.12 ± 11.16 vs 69.13 ± 9.61 years and Frailty score of 0.16 ± 0.1 vs 0.12 ± 0.1 respectively, T-test, p < 0.01 for both). Hazard ratios (HR) for age, female gender and frailty were significant for increased mortality, frailty had the highest HR of 182.42 (CI 29.05-1145.33, p < 0.01). Multivariate Cox model was fitted and after accounting for Gender, Age and Frailty, no significant difference was found between the 2 medical centers mortality rates (p = 0.59), thus no difference in mortality rates between BKP and conservative treatment in our study. CONCLUSION: long-term follow-up following BKP treatment for VCF did not show a reduced mortality rate compared to conservative treatment after accounting for frailty, age and gender. Frailty was the most important factor in predicting mortality. Further RCTs are needed to compare the quality of life differences between the 2 treatment strategies.
ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Multi-center prospective study. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the cost of routine biopsy during augmentation of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCF) and the affect it has on further treatment. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Vertebroplasty (VP) and Balloon Kyphoplasty (BKP) are accepted treatments for VCF. Bone biopsy is routinely performed during every VCF surgery in many centers around the world to exclude an incidental finding of malignancy as the cause of the pathological VCF. The incidence been reported as 0.7% to 7.3%, however the published cohorts are small and do not discuss cost-benefit aspects. METHODS: From 2008 to 2016 we performed 122 vertebral biopsies routinely on 116 patients in three hospitals. Twenty-three patients had history of malignancy (26 biopsies) and four were suspected of having malignancy based on imaging findings. The remaining 86 patients (99 biopsies) were presumed osteoporotic VCF. RESULTS: Out of 99 biopsies in the VCF cohort group only one yielded an unsuspected malignancy (1.16%), positive for multiple myeloma (MM). The ability of clinical assessment and imaging alone to diagnose malignancy was found to be 91.7% sensitive and 84.2% specific in our cohort. CONCLUSION: Routine bone biopsy during vertebral augmentation procedure is a safe option for evaluating the cause of the VCF but has significant cost to the health system. The cost of one diagnosed case of unsuspected malignancy was $31,000 in our study. The most common pathology was MM, which has not been proven to benefit from early diagnosis. When comparing clinical diagnosis with imaging, a previous history of malignancy was found in only 40.7% of VCF patients, while imaging was 100% accurate in predicting presence of malignancy on biopsy. This study reassures spine surgeons in their ability to diagnose malignant VCFs and does not support the significant cost of routine bone biopsies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.
