The study examines 313 patients who underwent spinal fusion with a total of 1,780 cement-augmented screws. There were 1,043 vertebrae instrumented. The study authors found:
1. Around 62 percent of the vertebrae had reported cement leakage.
2. There weren’t major complications associated with the cement leakage, but two patients reported radicular pain related to the leakage at the S1 foramina.
3. There were 13 patients who developed infections after surgery that required surgical debridement, including two patients with chronic infections that reported possible spondylitis and required instrument removal.
4. The patients all responded positively to antibiotic therapy.
5. Fifty-six patients underwent revision surgery, primarily long construction, and in total 1,880 screws were removed during revision.
“The results demonstrate the efficacy and safety of cement-augmented screws for the treatment of patients with low bone mineral density,” concluded the study authors.
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