Percutaneous sacroplasty using CT guidance for pain palliation in sacral insufficiency fractures

Ryne W. Dougherty, Jennifer S. McDonald, Yong Woon Cho, John T. Wald, Kent R. Thielen, David F. Kallmes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background and objective: Sacroplasty has emerged as a treatment option for patients with painful osteoporotic sacral insufficiency fractures. We report short-term outcomes in a consecutive cohort of patients treated with sacroplasty. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 57 patients treated with sacroplasty for painful osteoporotic sacral fractures at our institution between 2004 and 2011. An 11-point numerical rating scale pain score was recorded at rest and at activity pre- and post-procedure. Opioids prescribed to the patient both pre- and post-procedure were recorded. Results: Mean duration of pain prior to sacroplasty was 3 weeks (IQR 2-5). Procedural complications were minimal. Median post-procedure follow-up time was 2.5 weeks (IQR 1-5) among 45 patients with available data. Thirty-seven (82%) of the 45 patients experienced a numerical or descriptive decrease from initial pain at follow-up. Median activity pain scores collected from 13 patients decreased from 10 (IQR 8.5-10) pre-procedure to 6 (IQR 4-6.8) post-procedure (p<0.0001), and median rest pain scores collected from 29 patients decreased from 7 (IQR 4-8.5) to 2 (IQR 1-3.5)(p<0.0001). Twenty-two (76%) of 29 patients had at least a 30% decrease in rest pain scores. The median number of opioids prescribed per patient decreased from 1 (IQR 1-2) pre-procedure to 0 (IQR 0-1) post-procedure (p<0.0001). Thirty-four of 57 patients (60%) had decreased opioid usage, 15 (26%) patients had unchanged usage and 8 (14%) had increased usage. Conclusions: Our series demonstrates that sacroplasty is a safe and effective treatment in patients with painful osteoporotic insufficiency fractures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)57-60
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of neurointerventional surgery
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2014

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Clinical Neurology

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