Jeremy Tze En Lim, Yong Ng, Yee Gen Lim, Zhixing Marcus Ling, Reuben Chee Cheong Soh, Lei Jiang, Christian Hwee Yee Heng
Vertebroplasty was associated with sustained improvement in pain and function. Increasing age was the strongest observed independent predictor of poorer long-term physical function within this cohort, whereas procedural variables were not significantly associated with postoperative outcomes. These findings suggest that long-term functional recovery following vertebroplasty may be associated more strongly with patient-related than procedural factors within this cohort.
BACKGROUND: Vertebroplasty provides effective pain relief for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures; however, determinants of long-term functional recovery remain incompletely defined. This study aimed to evaluate baseline predictors of long-term patient-reported outcomes following vertebroplasty.
METHODS: Ninety-two patients who underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty between 2010 and 2022 with complete patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at baseline, 6 months, and 2 years were included. The primary outcome was Short Form-36 (SF-36) Physical Function at 2 years. Multivariable linear regression models adjusted for baseline PROMs were used to evaluate associations with age, sex, vertebral region, and number of treated levels.
RESULTS: Mean age was 76.5±8.4 years, and 82.6% were female. Significant improvements were observed in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores (77.3 to 25.3), SF-36 Physical Function (9.2 to 41.8), and visual analogue scale (VAS) back pain scores (8.0 to 1.7) at 2 years (all P<0.001). Increasing age was independently associated with poorer 2-year SF-36 Physical Function [β=-17.45 per 10-year increase; 95% confidence interval (CI): -24.43 to -10.47; P<0.001]. Procedural variables were not associated with postoperative outcomes. Baseline physical function demonstrated moderate correlation with postoperative outcomes (r=0.40-0.44) but was not independently predictive after adjustment.
CONCLUSIONS: Vertebroplasty was associated with sustained improvement in pain and function. Increasing age was the strongest observed independent predictor of poorer long-term physical function within this cohort, whereas procedural variables were not significantly associated with postoperative outcomes. These findings suggest that long-term functional recovery following vertebroplasty may be associated more strongly with patient-related than procedural factors within this cohort.