Comparison of the postoperative pain change and spinal stenosis rate between percutaneous vertebroplasty combined with radiofrequency ablation and with I particle implantation in the treatment of metastatic spinal cord compression: A retrospective study.

Background Context: Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) seriously affects the survival rate.

Objective: The therapeutic effects of two treatment strategies for MSCC: percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) combined with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and PVP combined with I particle implantation, were compared.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Patient Sample: 40 patients with MSCC were divided into two groups: 19 cases in the RFA group and 21 cases in the I group.

Method: All patients were accessed to determine the differences in pain, which was evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS) at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the operation, and spinal stenosis rates (SSRs), which were measured at 1 and 3 months after the operation, between the two groups.

Results: The VAS scores and SSRs at baseline were comparable between the RFA group and the I group (7.19 ​± ​2.07 vs 7.42 ​± ​1.95, 37.7% ​± ​11.2% vs 41.1% ​± ​11.4%). The VAS scores and SSRs at 1 month and 3 months after the operation were significantly reduced in both groups, compared with those at baseline. The VAS scores and SSRs in the I group were lower than those in the RFA group at 3 months after the operation (1.09 ​± ​0.97 vs 1.75 ​± ​1.06 p ​= ​0.048 and 12.3% ​± ​6.4% vs 18.1% ​± ​10.1% p ​= ​0.034), while the VAS scores at 1 week after the operation in the RFA group were lower than those in the I group (4.39 ​± ​1.34 vs 5.05 ​± ​1.82 p ​= ​0.049).

Conclusion: PVP combined with RFA has a slight advantage in relieving pain in the short term, while PVP combined with I particle implantation may have a better effect in the relieving pain and decreasing the SSRs at 3 months after the operation.