A team of researchers recently published an article in Spine examining posterolateral instrumented lumbar fusion using rhBMP-2.
The multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial included 197 patients who received one- or two-level instrumented posterolateral lumbar fusion at one of eight participating institutions. The researchers followed patients for two to four years postoperatively and found:
• No significant adverse events attributed to the study drug when compared with controls.
• The control group experienced significantly more graft-site complications than one may expect.
• The two groups had similar 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, Oswestry Disability Index and leg/back pain scores.
• Around 94 percent of the patients who received rhBMP-2 reported radiographical fusion rates, compared with 69 percent of the patients who received autograft.
As a result of their findings, the researchers suggest that "use of rhBMP-2 should be considered in cases where lumbar arthrodesis is of primary concern."
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