Fengyao Wang¹ , Fengna Wang², Tianyu Sun¹

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of anti-osteoporotic drugs in lowering risk of refracture after percutaneous vertebroplasty. Methods: The study involved 80 patients who underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty in The First Affiliated Hospital and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China between August 2020 and July 2022. The study group (n = 40) received postoperative rehabilitation in addition to anti-osteoporotic drugs for 6 months), while the control group (n = 40) received routine postoperative rehabilitation from the time of surgery completion to 3 months postoperative. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores were compared before surgery, 3 days, 3 months, and 6 months postoperative. Changes in the middle height of the vertebral body and bone density T-score of the surgical and adjacent vertebrae before and at end of follow-up, and refracture rates were compared. Results: The study group showed significantly lower VAS and ODI scores at 3 and 6 months after surgery compared to control group (p < 0.05). Both groups showed significant increase in vertebral body height before surgery (p < 0.05), with no significant difference at last follow-up (p > 0.05). Also, the study group showed significant increase in bone density in the surgical and adjacent vertebrae compared to control group at last follow-up (p < 0.05). Refracture rate was significantly lower in study group than in the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Administering anti-osteoporotic drugs after percutaneous vertebroplasty significantly alleviates pain, improves vertebral bone density, and reduces risk of refracture. However, a large-sample, multicenter, randomized prospective study to validate these findings is recommended.