Bone Cement Implantation Syndrome in Bone Tumor Surgeries: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Clinical Experience

To investigate the incidence and risk factors of bone cement implantation syndrome (BCIS) in bone tumor surgeries.

This was a retrospective observational study. We investigated patients who underwent bone tumor surgeries requiring cementation as part of the surgery between March 2016 and January 2018. We reviewed medical records, including formal anesthesia records and operation notes. Patients with complete data files were included. To investigate the general incidence of BCIS in tumor surgeries, patients of all ages, genders and tumor types were included. Vital signs, including oxygen saturation, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate, were checked and recorded once every 1-2 min after cementation. Accurate time points of cementation were recorded on formal anesthesia record sheets by the anesthesiologists. The definition and severity of BCIS were based on the classification system proposed in previous studies: grade I, moderate hypoxia (SpO₂  <94%) or hypotension (fall in systolic blood pressure >20%); grade II, severe hypoxia (SpO₂  <88%) or hypotension (fall in systolic blood pressure >40%) or unexpected loss of consciousness; and grade III, cardiovascular collapse requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We also compared the incidence of BCIS between those patients with and without possible risk factors, including intraoperative blood loss, arthroplasty, use of an intramedullary device, patient age, gender, tumor location, and preexisting lung cancer or lung metastasis.

A total of 88 patients were included. BCIS occurred in 23 patients, with an incidence of 26.1%. Among them, 19 had grade I and 4 had grade II BCIS. There was no patients with grade III BCIS. The lowest blood pressure occurred within 10 min in 21 (87.5%) patients and within 20 min for all patients. A total of 9 grade I BCIS were self-limiting. The other 10 grade I hypotension cases and all grade II hypotension cases recovered after administration of a vasoconstrictor medication. Preexisting lung cancer or lung metastasis was the risk factor for BCIS; 40.0% of patients (16 in 40 patients) with preexisting lung cancer or metastasis had BCIS, whereas only 14.6% of patients (7 in 48 patients) without lung lesions had BCIS. There was no risk difference in terms of arthroplasty, old age, and increased blood loss. Apart from grades I and II bone cement implantation syndrome, there were no other major complications, including death, cardiovascular events, or cerebrovascular events.

Bone cement implantation syndrome is not unusual in bone tumor surgeries, and preexisting lung cancer or lung metastasis is a risk factor.