Hydroxyapatite-coating of pedicle screws improves resistance against pull-out force in the osteoporotic canine lumbar spine model: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
In patients with spinal osteoporosis, the early achievement and maintenance of a biological bond between the pedicle screw and bone is important to avoid screw loosening complications. There are few reports of in vivo investigations involving biomechanical and histological evaluations in the osteoporotic spine.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of hydroxyapatite (HA)-coating on the pedicle screw in the osteoporotic lumbar spine and to investigate the relationship between resistance against the screw pull-out force and bone mineral density (BMD) of the vertebral body.


METHODS
Mechanical and pathological investigations in the lumbar spine.


METHODS
Two 24-month-old female beagle dogs were fed a calcium-free dog chow for 6 months after ovariectomy (OVX). BMD (in g/cm2) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at pre-OVX and 6 months after OVX. Pedicle screws were placed from L1 to L6 at 6 months after OVX. Twenty-four pure titanium cortical screws (Synthes, #401-114) were used as pedicle screws (Ti-PS). Of these, 12 screws had HA-coating (HA-PS). The HA-PS screws were inserted into the right pedicles and the Ti-PS were inserted into the left pedicles. Ten days after this procedure, the lumbar spines were removed en bloc for screw pull-out testing and histological evaluation.


RESULTS
The mean BMD value of the lumbar vertebrae 6 months after the OVX was 0.549+/-0.087 g/cm2, which was significantly less than the pre-OVX mean BMD of 0.603+/-0.092 g/cm2 (p < 0.001). The mean resistance against the pull-out force for the HA-PS was significantly greater at 165.6+/-26.5N than in the Ti-PS (103.1+/-30.2N, p < .001). The histological sections in the HA-PS clearly revealed new bone bonding with the apatite coating but only fibrous tissue bonding in the Ti-PS.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study showed that the resistance to the pull-out force of HA-PS is 1.6 times that of Ti-PS. Furthermore, HA-PS has superior biological bonding to the surrounding bone, as early as 10 days after surgery in this osteoporotic spine model. Thus, in patients with osteoporosis, coating of the pedicle screw with HA may provide better stability and bonding between the pedicle screw and bone in the early postoperative period.
Hasegawa
Toru
T
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama 701-0192, Japan. hasegawa@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp
Inufusa
Akihiko
A
Imai
Yoshiyuki
Y
Mikawa
Yoshihiro
Y
Lim
Tae-Hong
TH
An
Howard S
HS
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000818:Animals; D015519:Bone Density; D001863:Bone Screws; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D004285:Dogs; D017886:Durapatite; D005260:Female; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000601:surgery*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000295:instrumentation; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014025:Titanium
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D017886:Durapatite; D014025:Titanium