Use of BMP doesn't impact nonunion rates post spine fusion

(HealthDay)—The use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) is not associated with operative nonunion rates after spinal fusion, according to a study published in the Oct. 15 issue of Spine.

Kern H. Guppy, M.D., Ph.D., from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in Sacramento, Calif., and colleagues examined the operative nonunion rates with and without use of BMP after spinal fusion. Data were obtained for 9,425 spinal fusion cases (mean age, 60.4 years; 53 percent females) from 2009 to 2011 from an integrated health care system's spine registry.

The cohort included 5,456 BMP cases and 3,969 non-BMP cases. The researchers observed no significant difference in the reoperation rates for BMP versus non-BMP nonunions for all fusion cases with follow-up of one year or more (1.9 and 2.2 percent, respectively) and follow-up of two years or more (2.3 and 2.6 percent, respectively). There was no significant difference noted in the operative nonunion rates for different spine regions or for different fused columns (anterior only, posterior only, or combined). The risk of reoperation in the BMP versus non-BMP group was 0.67 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.42 to 1.06) after adjustment for differences in patient characteristics, operative times, levels fused, and spinal regions.

"In this large cohort of spinal fusions at all spine regions involving all fused columns with and without BMP, we found no statistically significant difference in operative nonunion rates," the authors write.

Relevant financial activities outside the submitted work were disclosed: grants.

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