Patient demographics
| Control Subjects | Steroid Users | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients (n) | 379 | 68 | |
| Sex (M:F) | 5:14 | 2:3 | .01 |
| Age, years (range) | 77 (28–96) | 68 (31–88) | <.0001 |
| Duration of pain (months) | 2 (0.1–60) | 2 (0.03–15) | .30 |
| No. of vertebral levels treated | 475 | 79 | |
| Sedation | .03 | ||
| Conscious | 408 (85.9%) | 58 (73.4%) | |
| Deep sedation | 12 (2.5%) | 5 (6.3%) | |
| General anesthesia | 55 (11.6%) | 16 (20.3%) | |
| Total vertebral levels treated/patient | 1 (1–11) | 2 (1–5) | .009 |
| Major complications | 13 (3.4%) | 3 (4.4%) | .60 |
| Rib fracture | 4 | 0 | |
| Radiculopathy | 3 | 2 | |
| Hypertensive episode | 2 | 0 | |
| Respiratory arrest | 2 | 0 | |
| Transverse process fracture | 0 | 1 | |
| PMMA pulmonary embolus | 1 | 0 | |
| Urinary retention | 1 | 0 | |
| New fractures | 110 (29.0%) | 20 (29.4%) | .68 |
Note:—Results are expressed as median (range) or frequency (percentage).