Abstract
To investigate the changes in respiratory function of COPD patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) after kyphoplasty (KP). Pain scores, pulmonary function parameters (PFT), and local kyphotic angle (LKA) were measured in 31 older patients (25 women, 6 men) with OVCFs before, 3 days after and 3 months after kyphoplasty. The preoperative and postoperative (3 days, 3 months) PFT parameters were as follows: % pred FVC, 74.33 ± 12.35, 85.23.8 ± 13.23, and 84.86 ± 14.01; % pred FEV1, 60.23 ± 11.2, 60.02 ± 11.90, and 60.78 ± 12.70; FEV1/FVC ratio (%), 68.22 ± 16.74, 59.56 ± 13.23, and 60.77 ± 12.28, % pred MVV 52.46 ± 14.37, 55.23 ± 15.68, and 62.12 ± 14.48, respectively. The preoperative mean VAS score was 8.01 ± 1.41 and significantly decreased to 2.52 ± 0.89 and 2.34 ± 0.78 at 3 days, 3 months after kyphoplasty, respectively. The preoperative local kyphotic angle degree was 21.96 ± 5.75°, significantly decreased to 13.48 ± 6.12° 3 days after KP, and maintained 3 month after KP. The decrease in the VAS scores correlated with the PFT parameters; however, there were no significant correlations between the PFT parameters and the LKA, the VAS scores and the LKA. Kyphoplasty under local anesthesia is a safety treatment for the COPD patients with OVCFS, and is able to improve the lung function impaired by OVCFs.