Pain Reduction by Percutaneous Vertebroplasty with Calcium Phosphate in Traumatic Vertebral Fractures

Vertebroplasty is a new and effective treatment for strengthening broken vertebra and reducing the pain arisen from osteoporotic fractures. This study was performed to determine the pain reduction effect of percutaneous vertebroplasty with calcium phosphate in traumatic vertebral fractures in patients attending to Laleh, Mehrad and Booali Hospitals in 2012.
In this quasi-experimental study, 18 patients with traumatic fractures in Laleh, Mehrdad and Bu Ali hospitals were studied during the year 2012. The method of purposeful non-probability sampling was used and ethical issues were carefully considered.
Pain intensity were determined and compared based on Visual Analog Scale in 3 phases; before and immediately after percutaneous surgery and vertebroplasty with calcium carbonate, and 6 months later. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive statistic method.
In this study, at first, the mean preoperative VAS was 8.2 that, subsequently, decreased to 1.68 and zero. Comparison of preoperative and postoperative pain severities demonstrated that 79.6% reduction was observed in the pain and later this amount was increased to 100%. Overly, there was not a relationship between changes in VAS and variables such as leakage in patients, age, calcium carbonate amount, gender and level of involvement.
It may be concluded that percutaneous vertebroplasty with calcium phosphate is effective in patients with traumatic vertebral fractures. Choosing the right patient, precise needle placement with fluoroscopic guide, timely injection of cement and experience play key roles in the success of this method.