Bone cement safe pain relief for compression fractures

TILBURG – Injection of bone cement (vertebroplasty) is safe, effective, and at an acceptable cost for patients with acute osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. Vertebroplasty also gives greater pain relief than regular conservative treatment. This study contradicts previous findings that showed vertebroplasty does not increase pain relief, reports an article in the medical journal The Lancet, written by Dr Caroline A H Klazen and Dr Paul N M Lohle, of St Elisabeth Ziekenhuis, Tilburg, and several other colleagues. In two previous randomized studies with a sham control intervention, results seemed to show that vertebroplasty and sham treatment were equally effective. The authors of this new work say clinical interpretation of these previous studies is hampered by inclusion of patients with subacute and chronic fractures instead of acute fractures only. Patients were recruited to this randomized trial from the radiology departments of six hospitals in the Netherlands and Belgium.