Is bone morphogenetic protein 2 effective, safe and cost-efficient in nonunion surgery of long bones

Background: The prevalence of fracture nonunion surgery is increasing in the general population with greater advancement in trauma surgery. Increasingly complex injuries involving the limbs are now amenable for limb preservation surgery, where in the past amputations would have been common place. Aims and Objectives: We carried out a literature review on the evidence available on the use of Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP-2) for long bone nonunion surgery. Methods: This literature review was initially undertaken for a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines, however due to lack of high-quality published literature, we present a narrative review instead. The abstracts of the articles obtained on Medline and Embase database were scrutinised according to the inclusion and exclusion criterions. The primary endpoint was union rates, and secondary end points were time to union, re-operation and post op infection rates. Results: A total of 240 titles were obtained, and after review, 3 articles were selected for final analysis. There were no statistically significant differences noted between the primary and secondary endpoints in the autologous bone graft (ABG) group when compared against the BMP-2 with allograft group. An additional review of the literature suggests that BMP-2 is cost neutral to the healthcare system. Conclusion: Although no firm conclusions can be drawn due to lack of power, the trend suggests no significant difference in union rates between autograft or BMP-2 with allograft, with comparable results to each other in all measurable end-points.