A new study published in Spine examines vertebroplasty for workers compensation patients with thoracolumbar fractures.
The study authors examined 371 patients in the Ohio Workers Compensation database who underwent vertebropalsty or conservative medical therapy for vertebral compression fractures. The patients underwent the procedure from 1993 to 2013; 46 patients underwent vertebroplasty within one year of the injury and 325 patients received spinal orthosis.
The study authors found:
1. Thirty-seven percent of the vertebroplasty group returned to work early, compared with 35.4 percent of the control group.
2. Half of the vertebropalsty group — 54.3 percent — returned to work; 70 percent of the control group did the same.
3. The patients who underwent vertebroplasty reported higher postoperative opioid use.
4. The study authors concluded, "Vertebroplasty may not be an effective treatment modality for VCFs in the WC population when RTW is the primary goal."
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