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Society of Interventional Radiology supports vertebroplasty, questions studies
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The Society of Interventional Radiology has backed the vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures as being beneficial for some patients with painful osteoporotic spine fractures and questioned two prominent studies that found vertebroplasty to be comparable in efficacy to placebo.
“SIR supports the use of vertebral augmentation (vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty) for patients with painful compression fractures,” Brian F. Stainken, MD, FSIR, president of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), stated in a press release.
“Hundreds of thousand of patients have greatly benefited from vertebroplasty with almost complete resolution of their pain; tens of thousands dependent on intravenous narcotics have been discharged from the hospital virtually pain- and drug-free following their treatment,” he added.
Reimbursement concern
According to the release, the SIR is concerned about the effect that two recent studies had on physician and patient confidence in these procedures and how the outcomes of these studies may negatively impact future reimbursements for vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty.
The clinical investigations in question are two multicenter studies that were published last year, which compared vertebroplasty to placebo and found similar results for pain relief at short-term follow-up.
“We are concerned about the possibility that insurance coverage may be withdrawn for vertebroplasty and possibly kyphoplasty because of the controversy generated by the two [New England Journal of Medicine] NEJM studies,” Stainken stated in the release.
He noted that SIR officials are following the situation, which could prevent patients who are enrolled in approved trials from accessing these treatments.
“SIR supports the important role of research regarding the role of vertebral augmentation, but we should take note that it is increasingly clear that these studies did not tell the whole story,” Stainken stated.
He noted that studies that are scheduled to be presented at the upcoming SIR annual scientific meeting may provide a new perspective and show that vertebroplasty provides long-term, rapid pain relief for select patients.
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