ArticleOsteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA2022
Trends in opioid use following balloon kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures.
Article in Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Kyphoplasty is associated with reduced mortality risk for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024Pooled it
- Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score as a Predictor of Vertebral Fracture in Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Spinal Metastases: A Single-Institution Study.Advances in radiation oncology · 2025Article
- Real-world rates and risk factors for subsequent treatment with vertebroplasty or balloon kyphoplasty after initial vertebral augmentation: a retrospective cohort study.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2025Article
- The Effect of Kyphoplasty on Opioid Use in Patients With Vertebral Compression Fractures.Cureus · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This retrospective analysis of insurance claims evaluated real-world trends in prescription fills among patients treated with balloon kyphoplasty (N = 6,656) or vertebroplasty (N = 2,189) following diagnosis of vertebral compression fracture. Among those with evidence of opioid use, nearly half of patients discontinued or reduced prescription fills relative to pre-operative levels.
introductionVertebral compression fractures (VCF) are associated with debilitating pain, spinal misalignment, increased mortality, and increased healthcare-resource utilization in elderly patients. This study evaluated the effect of balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) or vertebroplasty (VP) on post-procedure opioid prescription fills and payer costs in patients with VCF.
methodsThis was a retrospective analysis of a large, nationally representative insurance-claims database. Clinical characteristics, opioid prescription patterns, and payer costs for subjects who underwent either BKP or VP to treat VCF were evaluated beginning 6 months prior to surgery through 7-month follow-up that included a 30-day, postoperative medication washout. Patient demographics, changes in opioid utilization, and payer costs were analyzed.
resultsA total of 8,845 patients met eligibility criteria (75.3% BKP and 24.7% VP) with a mean of age 77 and 74% female. Among the 75% of patients who used opioids, 48.7% of patients discontinued opioid medication and 8.4% reduced prescription fills versus preoperative baseline. Patients who reduced or discontinued prescriptions exhibited a decrease in all-cause payer costs relative to pre-intervention levels, which was a significantly greater change relative to patients with no change, increase, or new start of opioids.
conclusionsInterventional treatment for VCF was associated with decreased or discontinued opioid prescription fills and reduced payer costs in follow-up in a significant proportion of the study population. Reduction of opioid-based harms may represent a previously unrecognized benefit of vertebral augmentation for VCF, especially in this elderly and medically fragile population.
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