Transvertebral Bone Graft and Augmentation Versus Posterior Spinal Instrumentation in the Treatment of Simple Thoracolumbar Compression Fractures

This retrospective cohort study was performed to investigate clinical efficacy of TBGA compared with pedicle screw fixation (PSF).A total of 86 eligible patients with single-level simple thoracolumbar compression fracture (TLCF) received TBGA (n = 41) or PSF (n = 45) from January 2013 to July 2015. The patients were evaluated using plain radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively. The radiologic examinations were performed at each time point postoperatively. Clinical status was assessed using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and visual analog scale (VAS) scores. In addition, anterior vertebral body height (AVBH), kyphosis angle (KA), radiologic adjacent segment pathology (RASP), and complication rates were also compared between the 2 groups. The average follow-up period of patients was 26.1 months.Significant clinical improvements in ODI, VAS, AVBH, and KA were achieved in both TBGA and PSF groups after surgery, respectively (P0.05). There was no statistical difference in improvements of ODI and VAS between the TBGA and PSF groups (P0.05). Similarly, improvements of AVBH and KA showed no statistical difference between the 2 groups (P0.05). In addition, the rates of RASP and complications in PSF group were significantly higher than the TBGA group during the follow-up period (P 0.05).TBGA can achieve satisfactory clinical effects in treatment of simple TLCF. TBGA involves shorter operative time, less blood loss, lower RASP, and lower complication rates and could be more suitable for the surgical treatment of simple TLCF.