Does segmental artery occlusion cause intravertebral cleft following osteoporotic vertebral fracture: a prospective magnetic resonance angiography study

Background: The avascular necrosis (AVN) hypothesis of intravertebral cleft (IVC) formation in osteoporotic vertebral fracture (OVCF) has received increasing attention. The aim of this article is to detect whether the segmental artery occlusion causes the IVC following OVCF.

Methods: Between December 2019 and April 2020, 44 OVCF patients with 46 fracture levels were prospectively enrolled and the vertebral segmental arteries were evaluated by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). The artery conditions were divided into patent, narrow and occluded. The lesion segmental occlusion rate (LSOR) and the total occlusion rate (TOR) were calculated. The association of segmental artery occlusion and IVC formation was assessed.

Results: LOSR was 15.34% and TOR was 15.12%. The segmental arteries of the unfractured vertebrae had a higher occlusion rate at thoracolumbar levels than at non-thoracolumbar levels. There was no significant difference between the IVC group and the non-IVC group in the fractured levels artery occlusion rate (20.24 ± 28.08 vs 9.78 ± 19.56, P = 0.156) or the total segmental arteries occlusion rate (13.83 ± 12.04 vs 11.57 ± 9.25, P = 0.476).

Conclusions: In patients with vertebral osteoporotic fracture, segmental artery occlusion is not associated with the development of intravertebral cleft.