[Kyphoplasty as treatment for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: relatively safe, but still no evidence of functional improvement; a review of the literature].

OBJECTIVE: To determine, on the basis of the available literature, whether kyphoplasty is a safe technique for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures that leads to functional improvement in the patient's activities of daily living.
DESIGN: Review of the literature. METHOD. Publications on the results of kyphoplasty were retrieved from Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Studies were included on the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures with kyphoplasty involving more than 15 patients and with a follow-up of at least 6 months. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa quality assessment scale.
RESULTS: 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. No randomised controlled trials were retrieved. Severe complications such as pulmonary embolism, spinal stenosis, radiculopathy, and epidural haematoma occurred in 13 of the 737 patients. Leakage of cement occurred in 133 out of 1205 treated vertebrae. In 2 studies in which the functional outcome was evaluated, there was a significant improvement in comparison with the control group after six months.
CONCLUSION: Kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures has a low complication risk. However, the quality of the retrieved studies was not sufficient to answer the question whether kyphoplasty leads to improved function of the patient.