Association between vertebral bone quality score and residual back pain following percutaneous vertebroplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures

Residual back pain (RBP) is one of the complications following percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) in older people with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs). The vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to evaluate bone quality. The objective of this study aimed to explore the potential relationship between the VBQ score and RBP after PVP.

From January 2018 to January 2022, patients with OVCFs who underwent PVP in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Each patient’s lumbar VBQ score was recorded. The RBP was defined as a visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥ 4 for back pain postoperatively. Other variables included demographic, clinical, radiological, and surgical data. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the independent risk factors.

The incidence of RBP was 8.0% among 598 patients. The results of the multivariate regression analysis showed that preoperative VBQ score (OR 3.295, P < 0.001), BMD (OR 0.545, P = 0.007), lumbodorsal fascia contusion (OR 4.297, P = 0.034), and cement distribution (OR 4.556, P = 0.006) were risk factors associated with RBP after PVP.

The preoperative high VBQ score was an independent risk factor associated with RBP after PVP. Moreover, other risk factors included low BMD, lumbodorsal fascia contusion, and cement distribution. The MRI-VBQ score may serve as a useful tool for assisting in evaluating patients at risk of RBP following PVP.