Role of zoledronic acid in treatment of osteoporosis and prevention of fractures

Introduction. One of the causes of primary disability and high mortality, among patients with osteoporosis, are fractures that occur with minimal trauma, as a rule, it is a fall from the height of one’s own height. The final link in the chain of preventive measures to reduce the frequency of osteoporosis and fractures on its background is the introduction of pharmacological correction of bone deficiency into the practical activity of an orthopedic traumatologist. Currently, there are several drugs that can change the disturbed metabolism. For example, the use of zoledronic acid significantly reduces the risk of fractures.Aim: to study the effect of zoledronic acid on bone mineral density in patients with osteoporosis complicated by a fracture of proximal end of the femur.Materials and methods. In a prospective cohort study, 14 patients received zoledronic acid for 2 years.Results. When comparing BMD L2-L4, it was revealed that a year after the start of treatment, its increase relative to the baseline value was 4.6%, but was statistically insignificant (0.86 ± 0.078 g/cm2 versus 0.90 ± 0.08 g/cm2, p > 0.05). After 2 years of treatment, the BMD of this segment increased, relative to the baseline values, by 12% and the differences became statistically significant (0.86 ± 0.078 g/cm2 compared to 0.97 ± 0.076 g/cm2, p < 0.05). The increase in BMD for the second year of treatment by 6% was statistically significantly different from the increase for the first year of treatment (0.90 ± 0.08 g/cm2 compared to 0.97 ± 0.076 g/cm2, p < 0.05).A comparative analysis of the basic units of the IPC hip after 1 and 2 years of treatment did not reveal significant differences: 0.7075 ± 0.046 g/cm2 compared to 0.7079 ± 0.034 g/cm2 and 0.70751 ± 0.046 g/cm2 compared to 0.6630 ± 0.97 g/cm2, p > 0.05. In any case, for 2 years not marked new vertebral body fractures. Only one patient had a fracture of the radius in the distal third. The quality of life, after 2 years, significantly improved on the scale of “habitual daily activities” (p = 0.007), decreased indicators on the scale of “anxiety” and “depression” (p > 0.05).Discussion. The study confirmed that even in the presence of pronounced bone loss, pharmacological correction of impaired remodeling reduces the risk of new fractures and improves the quality of life.Conclusion. Pharmacotherapy with zoledronic acid, in our study, confirmed its effectiveness in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Interventional Procedures for Vertebral Diseases: Spinal Tumor Ablation, Vertebral Augmentation, and Basivertebral Nerve Ablation—A Scoping Review

Low back pain is consistently documented as the most expensive and leading cause of disability. The majority of cases have non-specific etiologies. However, a subset of vertebral diseases has well-documented pain generators, including vertebral body tumors, vertebral body fractures, and vertebral endplate injury. Over the past two decades, specific interventional procedures targeting these anatomical pain generators have been widely studied, including spinal tumor ablation, vertebral augmentation, and basivertebral nerve ablation. This scoping review summarizes safety and clinical efficacy and discusses the impact on healthcare utilization of these interventions. Vertebral-related diseases remain a top concern with regard to prevalence and amount of health care spending worldwide. Our study shows that for a subset of disorders related to the vertebrae, spinal tumor ablation, vertebral augmentation, and basivertebral nerve ablation are safe and clinically effective interventions to decrease pain, improve function and quality of life, and potentially reduce mortality, improve survival, and overall offer cost-saving opportunities.

Osteoporotic mid-thoracic vertebral body fractures: what are the differences compared to fractures of the lumbar spine?—a systematic review

Purpose The aim of this systematically review is to detect differences between fractures located at the mid-thoracic spine compared to fractures of the thoracolumbar junction (TLJ) and the lumbar spine in osteoporotic vertebral body fractures. Methods This review is based on articles retrieved by a systematic search in the PubMed and Web of Science database for publications regarding osteoporotic fractures of the thoracolumbar spine with respect to the fracture location. Differences in prevalence, cause of fracture, fracture healing, and outcomes between the mid-thoracic spine and the TLJ and the lumbar spine were considered. Results Altogether, 238 articles could be retrieved from the literature search. A total of 222 articles were excluded. Thus, 16 remaining original articles were included in this systematic review comprising the topics prevalence, bone mineral density and regional blood flow, biomechanics, subsequent fractures, and outcome, respectively. The overall level of evidence of the vast majority of studies was moderate to low. Conclusion Several differences between osteoporotic fractures of the mid-thoracic spine compared to the TLJ and the lumbar spine could be identified. Thereby, osteoporotic mid-thoracic fractures seem to be particularly more related to frailty without a history of traumatic injury compared to osteoporotic fractures of the TLJ and the lumbar spine. Additionally, the presence of severe mid-thoracic fractures predicts subsequent fractures of the hip. In contrast, subsequent fractures of the spine are less likely.

Vertebral Fractures as a Manifestation of Phosphaturic Mesenchymal Tumor-Induced Osteomalacia

Background. The rarity of the disease and, in this regard, the lack of doctors awareness about the pathology, late diagnosis and severe complications of the musculoskeletal system emphasize the relevance of clinical case demonstrating. The uniqueness of the case lies in the fact that hypophosphatemia, noted 3 years after the disease debut, was not taken into account.Case description. A 45-year-old patient with complaints of muscle weakness, gait disorders, torso deformity and multiple vertebral body fractures that appeared against the background of any somatic diseases absence, a differential diagnosis of metastatic vertebral bodies lesions and secondary osteoporosis complicated by vertebral body fractures was carried out for four years in various hospitals, and was even treated with bisphosphonates. Against this background, the chest deformity increased, kyphosis and remodeling fractures of other bones appeared. The assessment of calcium and phosphorus homeostasis was first performed at the 4th year of the disease, but the detected hypophosphatemia was not regarded as a manifestation of hypophosphatemic osteomalacia.Conclusion. Among adult patients with multiple low-energy fractures, severe muscle weakness and bone pain that appeared against the background of complete health, to exclude hypophosphatemic osteomalacia induced by mesenchymal tumor, it is necessary to include the level of phosphorus in blood and daily urine assessment in the diagnostic algorithm.

Zoledronic Acid in Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures Treated With Percutaneous Kyphoplasty: A Meta-Analysis

Background: We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid combined with percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs).Methods: Eligible scientific articles published prior to July 2020 were retrieved from the PubMed, Springer, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library databases. The statistical analysis was performed with RevMan 5.1.Results: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 2 non-RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The present meta-analysis revealed that zoledronic acid combined with PKP is associated with a higher BMD, a better quality of life, less severe low back pain, and fewer additional vertebral body fractures than is percutaneous vertebral augmentation alone.Conclusions: Compared with PKP only, zoledronic acid combined with percutaneous vertebral augmentation is beneficial for OVCFs.

Dog bite wounds in cats: a retrospective study of 72 cases

Objectives Bite wounds are a common cause of trauma in cats; nevertheless, large-scale studies of this trauma in cats are lacking. The aims of the present study were to characterise the clinical and clinicopathological findings in these cats, to assess the association of these variables and therapeutic measures with survival, and to assess the association between the animal trauma triage (ATT) score and severity of injuries score (SS) at presentation with survival. Methods The medical records of cats presented to a veterinary teaching hospital and two large referral clinics were reviewed retrospectively. Results The study included 72 cats diagnosed with canine bite wounds (with the dog attacks having been witnessed). Seventy-one percent of cats suffered multiple injuries, and there was a significant association between the number of injured body areas and survival, and between severity of injury and survival ( P = 0.02 and P = 0.012, respectively). The median ATT scores and SSs for non-survivors were significantly higher compared with survivors ( P <0.0001). There was a strong and significant correlation between ATT scores and SSs ( r = 0.704, P <0.0001). Total protein and albumin were significantly lower and alanine aminotransferase significantly higher in non-survivors compared with survivors ( P ⩽0.032). Fifty percent of cats were treated conservatively, 32% by local surgical debridement and 18% of cats required an exploratory procedure. Cats undergoing more aggressive treatments were significantly less likely to survive ( P = 0.029). Fifty-seven cats (79%) survived to discharge. Conclusions and relevance Cats sustaining canine bite wounds have a good overall prognosis for survival to discharge. High ATT score, high SS, multiple body area injuries, penetrating injuries, radiographic evidence of vertebral body fractures and body wall abnormalities, as well as hypoproteinaemia and elevated alanine aminotransferase, are negative predictors of survival.

Delayed chylothorax in the absence of radiological evidence of rib or vertebral body fractures following blunt trauma

Our case report illustrates effective implementation of conservative measures without the need for more invasive procedures, which can be required in refractory cases. Our patient was a 42-year-old female who fell from a horse and presented with a 1-week history of dyspnoea. Investigations revealed her to have a large right chylothorax, which was treated conservatively with chest drainage and octreotide. The patient remained in hospital for a total of 3 days prior to being discharged home without further complications. Blunt traumatic chylothorax should be considered as part of the differential diagnosis in patients who present with ongoing dyspnoea or chest discomfort within a 2-week preceding history of blunt trauma. Radiological imaging should be mandatory and the absence of posterior thoracic fractures does not exclude the diagnosis. Conservative management with pleural drainage, medium-chain triglyceride diet and octreotide yielded excellent results in our case.