Routine Bone Biopsy during Percutaneous Vertebroplasty or Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures. Does It Change the Management Plan? Do We Know the Costs?

IntroductionAccording to the WHO, osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually worldwide. The lifetime risk for a wrist, hip or vertebral compression fracture (VCF) has been estimated to be in the order of 30% to 40% in developed countries. It is estimated that up to 2 people per 100,000 in England are currently treated with percutaneous vertebroplasty and percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty. There are other causes of vertebral compression fractures, and therefore a bone biopsy is recommended to rule out pathologies such as malignancy. There is debate about the necessity of routine biopsy and its cost- effectiveness.Material and MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study on a cohort of consecutive patients undergoing vertibroplasty/kyphoplasty and bone biopsy over a 2 year period between 2013 and 2015 at The Ipswich Spinal Unit. Patient's demographics, indication for surgery, level of augmentation, histopathology results, complications and outcomes were extracted from electronic records. Patie...