[Short-term effectiveness comparison of unipedicular versus bipedicular percutaneous kyphoplasty for osteoporotic...

To compare the short-term effectiveness and safety of unipedicular versus bipedicular percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) with posterior wall broken.

The clinical data of 68 patients with OVCF with posterior wall broken and without posterior ligament complex injury and spinal cord nerve injury between June 2013 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different operative approaches, the patients were divided into two groups: group A (36 cases received PKP via bilateral pedicle puncture) and group B (32 cases received PKP via unilateral pedicle paracentesis). There was no significant difference between the two groups in gender, age, fracture vertebra distribution, time from injury to operation, preoperative pain visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI), and height of injured vertebra ( P>0.05). The operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy times, and bone cement volume were recorded and compared between the two groups. The VAS score and ODI score were used to evaluate the effectiveness before operation, at 1 day and 6 months after operation; the height of injured vertebra was measured on the lateral X-ray film, and the recovery height of injured vertebra at 1 day after operation and the loss height of injured vertebra at 6 months after operation were calculated; the intraoperative and postoperative complications of the two groups were recorded.

The operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy times, and bone cement volume of group B were significantly less than those of group A ( P<0.05). All patients were followed up 10-35 months, with an average of 18 months. During the operation, there were 2 cases (5.56%) of cement leakage in group A and 9 cases (28.13%) in group B, showing significant difference ( χ ²=4.808, P=0.028). There was no adverse reactions of bone cement, iatrogenic spinal cord injury, infection of puncture port, or other complications in the two groups. During the follow-up period, there were 3 cases (8.3%) of adjacent vertebral fractures in group A and 2 cases (6.3%) in group B, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( χ ²=0.027, P=0.869). The height of injured vertebra of the two groups at 1 day and 6 months after operation were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the height of injured vertebrae and the recovery height of injured vertebra at 1 day after operation between the two groups ( P>0.05). However, at 6 months after operation, the height of injured vertebra in group B was significantly lower than that in group A ( P<0.05), and the loss height of injured vertebra in group B was significantly higher than that in group A ( P<0.05). The VAS score and ODI score at 1 day and 6 months after operation were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones in both groups ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05).

Both bipedicular and unipedicular PKP can obtain satisfactory effectiveness for the treatment of OVCF with posterior wall broken, but the former may have advantages of lower cement leakage rate and less height loss.