Radiation Exposure and Cement Volume During Fluoroscopy-Guided Percutaneous Vertebroplasty

Date

2015-04-27

Authors

Jain, Aman

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Worldwide access.
Access changed 8/3/17.

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Abstract

According to new state and federal mandates, radiation exposure and patient safety are being evaluated, tracked, and recorded. Through our Department of State Health Services, Texas has enacted regulations to establish guidelines for radiation reporting for various diagnostic and therapy. Vertebroplasty, the procedure studied, is a minimally invasive surgical procedure using a biopsy needle guided into a fractured vertebra under x-ray guidance to fill the spaces of the damaged vertebra with bone cement to restore structural integrity. Complications following such a procedure have been linked to over-filling of the vertebral body. The radiation exposure, surgical time, and cement volume injected per vertebral body during percutaneous vertebroplasty were investigated in this cross-sectional study of 101 patients in Waco, Texas. It was found that the procedures in the lumbar spine can be performed slightly faster, and with less fluoroscopic time for the patients. Compared to the thoracic spine however, the total body dose per level was almost 60% higher and the skin entry dose was almost 70% higher per level. Vertebral bodies in the lumbar region required an average of 66% more cement than vertebral bodies in the thoracic region.

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Keywords

Radiology, Vertebroplasty, Back Pain, Compression Fractures, Spine

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