ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2026
Combined vertebroplasty and pregabalin versus vertebroplasty alone for osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures with referred pain: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOsteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fractures are frequently accompanied by referred pain. Although percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) effectively alleviates local pain, its efficacy for referred pain remains limited. Pregabalin reduces neural sensitization and may enhance analgesic outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the effect of combining PVP with pregabalin on referred pain.
methodsIn this retrospective cohort study, 108 patients were allocated to either a combination therapy group (PVP plus pregabalin, n = 55) or a PVP-alone group (n = 53). The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ), and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores were assessed preoperatively and at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months postoperatively.
resultsThe combination group demonstrated significantly lower VAS and PSQ scores at 1 week and 1 month postoperatively compared to the PVP-alone group (all P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed at 3 months. No significant intergroup differences were found in ODI scores throughout the follow-up period. Patients with high baseline VAS scores or high pain sensitivity (as indicated by PSQ) exhibited more pronounced early pain improvement in the combination group.
conclusionThe combination of PVP with pregabalin provides more effective relief of early postoperative referred pain, particularly in patients with high pain sensitivity. The baseline VAS score is a key predictor of early pain improvement. These findings suggest that postoperative analgesic strategies should be tailored to individual baseline pain sensitivity levels.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.