Incidence and Outcomes of Vertebral Compression Fracture Among Patients Infected with COVID-19.

Background/

Objectives

Early studies have suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a deleterious effect on bone mineral density and may increase the risk of pathological fractures. This study characterized vertebral compression fractures in patients with and without a prior diagnosis of COVID-19.

Methods

Using a nationwide claims database, this retrospective study used ICD-10 billing codes to identify patients with a diagnosis of vertebral compression fracture from January 2020 to April 2022. Two cohorts were created based on whether the patients had a concurrent diagnosis of COVID-19. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and outcome measures were characterized by descriptive analysis.

Results

In total, 413,425 patients met the inclusion criteria. Among them, a total of 23,148 patients (5.60%) had a diagnosis of COVID-19 at the time of their compression fracture. Among the COVID-19 patients, the incidences of vertebral compression fracture were 0.42% in 2020 and 0.33% in 2021, in comparison to the historical average yearly incidence of 0.17% across all patients. The patients with COVID-19 at the time of compression fracture diagnosis had a higher rate of vitamin D deficiency (OR: 1.25) and a lower rate of routine healing (OR: 0.61). The patients without COVID-19 were more likely to be osteoporotic (OR: 0.88), experience additional compression fractures (OR: 0.38), and have kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty (OR: 0.73).

Conclusions

Despite lower rates of osteoporosis, patients with a concomitant COVID-19 diagnosis exhibited a higher incidence of compression fractures. Although more research is needed, these results support increasing bone health surveillance in patients with a history of COVID-19 infection.