title: Porosity of β-tricalcium phosphate affects the results of lumbar posterolateral fusion.
abstract: METHODS
  Clinical case-control and cross-sectional study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the influence of different porosities of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) as a bone substitute combined with local autograft bone obtained from decompression for lumbar posterolateral fusion (PLF).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Several reports have documented a high bone fusion rate using β-TCP as a bone substitute. β-TCP is increasingly used to supplement autograft in lumbar PLF, but the influence of different porosities of β-TCP for the lumbar PLF has not been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty patients who were diagnosed with lumbar degenerative diseases and treated with 2-level noninstrumented lumbar PLF were divided into 2 groups. Thirty patients were treated with 75% porous β-TCP (β-TCP-75 group), and the others were treated with 60% porous β-TCP (β-TCP-60 group). The clinical and radiographic results of each patient were assessed at 2 years postoperatively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both the groups showed a good improvement rate of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (JOA score) at 2 years postoperatively, but there were no significant differences between them. The β-TCP-75 group represented a bone fusion rate of 70.0% (64.7% in men, 76.9% in women) and the β-TCP-60 group was 93.3% (87.5% in men, 100.0% in women). The latter exhibited a significantly better bone fusion rate than the β-TCP-75 group (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In lumbar PLF, 60% porous β-TCP granules achieved a higher bone fusion rate than 75% porous β-TCP granules.
authors: Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie, Japan.
authors: Zhuo
authors: Z
authors: Wang
authors: Toshihiko
authors: T
authors: Sakakibara
authors: Akihiro
authors: A
authors: Sudo
authors: Yuichi
authors: Y
authors: Kasai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016062:Porosity; D011859:Radiography; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002130:Calcium Phosphates; C485817:beta-tricalcium phosphate