Minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion using a novel hydroxyapatite-coated screw: final 2-year clinical and radiographic results

Background: The proper diagnosis and treatment of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain remains a clinical challenge. Dysfunction of the SIJ can produce pain in the lower back, buttocks, and extremities. The present prospective clinical study is a follow-up report on a previous 1-year report on the use of a novel hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated titanium screw for the surgical treatment of SIJ dysfunction.

Methods: Data were prospectively collected on 32 consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive SIJ fusion with a novel HA-coated screw. Clinical assessments and radiographs were collected and evaluated at 24 months postoperatively.

Results: Mean preoperative visual analog scale (VAS) back, left, and right leg pain scores decreased significantly to 20.0 (±18.4), 5.8 (±8.1), and 11.5 (±20.1) at 24-month follow-up, respectively. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores significantly decreased to 27.5 (±18.8) points at 24 months (P<0.01). Two patients who required revision surgery reported improvement of their symptoms within 3 weeks and did not require subsequent surgery to be performed.

Conclusions: This study shows positive clinical and functional outcomes for patients who have undergone fusion using HA-coated screws for SIJ dysfunction. SIJ fusion using a HA-coated screw to treat SIJ dysfunction significantly decreased VAS back and leg pain and ODI scores at 2-year follow-up.