Purpose of Technology

Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a therapeutic interventional radiologic procedure for patients with painful vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) due to primary or secondary osteoporosis that involves injection of bone cement into an osteolytic or osteoporotic fracture with the goal of relieving pain, improving mobility, and preventing further collapse of the bone.

Questions addressed in this report include:

• Is percutaneous vertebroplasty effective for management of pain associated with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs)?
• Is percutaneous vertebroplasty effective for management of pain associated with VCFs due to malignancy?
• What complications are associated with percutaneous vertebroplasty?
• Have definitive patient selection criteria for percutaneous vertebroplasty been established?

These questions provide a framework for review and synthesis of the best available evidence, which is presented in this report, along with the Hayes Ratings for the technology. This report also provides background information about the condition being treated, a description of the technology, and the context for development of the technology. Other key elements addressed in the report include the regulatory status; applicable Medicare and commercial payer coverage policies; relevant ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis codes; cost and cost effectiveness; credentialing; hospital length of stay; need for large case management; and ongoing and future clinical trials of the technology.

Posted in Directory Reports
This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 12:00 pm.