Safety and Efficacy of Sacroplasty for Sacral Fractures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of sacroplasty for the treatment of osteoporotic and malignant sacral fractures by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature. PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases were searched from their inception until February 2018 for articles describing sacroplasty. Inclusion criteria were as follows: studies reporting > 5 patients, and pain assessment before and after the procedure recorded with visual analog scale (VAS). Demographic data, procedural details, technical success rates, VAS scores before and after the procedure, and procedural complications were recorded. A random-effects meta-analyses of the VAS pain score before the procedure, at 24-48 hours, at 6 months, and at 12 months were calculated. Nineteen studies (18 case series and 1 cohort study) were identified consisting of 861 total patients (682 women and 167 men; mean age 73.89 ± 9.73 years). Patients underwent sacroplasty for the following indications: sacral insufficiency fractures secondary to osteoporosis (n= 664), malignancy (n= 167), and nonspecified sacral insufficiency fractures (n= 30). Technical and clinical successes were achieved in 98.9% (852/861) and 95.7% (623/651) of patients undergoing sacroplasty, respectively. The pooled major complication rate was 0.3%, with 3 patients requiring surgical decompression for cement leakage. Random-effects meta-analyses demonstrated statistically significant differences in the VAS pain level at preprocedure, 24-48 hours, 6 months, and 12 months, with cumulative pain scores of 8.32 ± 0.01, 3.55 ± 0.01, 1.48 ± 0.01, and 0.923 ± 0.01, respectively. Sacroplasty appears safe and effective for pain relief in patients with osteoporotic or malignant sacral fractures, with statistically significant sustained improvement in VAS pain scores up to 12 months.