Relationship between changes in extent of bone marrow edema (BME) in treated vertebral compression fractures (VCF) and corresponding decreases in visual analog score (VAS) for pain and use of analgesics in the 3 follow-up intervals after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) in 31 patients (subgroup A)
| Follow-up Interval after PV | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 mo | 3–6 | 6–12 mo | |
| Change in BME extent | |||
| No. of VCF with BME | 31 | 20 | 17 |
| Decrease | 90% | 45% | 41% |
| Similar | 10% | 55% | 59% |
| Increase | — | — | — |
| Mean decrease in VAS | 6.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Decrease | 100% | 19% | 29% |
| Similar | — | 71% | 55% |
| Increase | — | 10% | 16% |
| Change in analgesic use | |||
| Decrease | 82% | 10% | 7% |
| Similar | 18% | 84% | 87% |
| Increase | — | 6% | 6% |