Systematic Review of Bioactive Glass Cages in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.
Bioactive glass cages show fusion rates similar to traditional grafts in cervical discectomy and fusion.
Systematic Review of Bioactive Glass Cages in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion) is a standard procedure for cervical degenerative pathologies, typically using allograft or polyetheretherketone (polyetheretherketone) cages.
This review aimed to compare clinical and radiological outcomes between BGC cages and traditional graft options (allograft or polyetheretherketone) in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to compare bioactive glass and traditional techniques.
fusion rates were about the same regardless of graft material
Our final review included 9 studies with 542 patients: 235 treated with bioactive glass and 307 with traditional methods (allograft or polyetheretherketone).
There was no statistically significant difference between bioactive glass and control groups in improvement in neck pain (g = 0.00; 95% CI -0.19 to 0.18; P = 0.98) or upper extremity pain (g = -0.15; 95% CI -0.42 to 0.11; P = 0.26).
All studies reported comparable clinical and radiological outcomes for bioactive glass compared with traditional methods for cages in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
Outcomes, including visual analog scale, Neck Disability Index, computed tomography fusion, and interspinous motion, were similar.
Only 9 studies have been performed so far; thus, additional research is necessary to establish bioactive glass as a compelling alternative to traditional techniques.