Study Cautions Against Use of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMP) in Children’s Spine Surgery

San Diego, CA—March 14, 2017

Bone morphogenetic proteins, commonly used off-label to enhance pediatric spinal fusion (spinal arthrodesis), did not improve revision rates for pediatric spinal fusion, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

"BMP is frequently used off-label for pediatric spinal fusions, yet children rarely have difficulty forming robust bone at the site of spinal fusion. There is no proof that BMP improves the quality of spinal fusion in children and adolescents," said lead study author Emily Dodwell, MD, MPH, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), in New York City. "Although the rationale for using BMP is that it might improve bone healing and minimize the likelihood of further surgery, we found that BMP did not change the revision rate in children."

BMPs are naturally occurring proteins found in the body that promote the formation of bone. They can be produced, concentrated, and used in various therapies to help bone heal or fuse. In the case of spinal fusion, they are placed around the spine to help healing. BMP is approved in adults for various indications including lumbar spine fusion. While BMP is not FDA approved in children, studies have shown that BMP is used off-label in up to 17 percent of pediatric spinal fusions, but little is known about whether it improves outcomes. Spinal fusion  is one of the most common elective pediatric orthopedic surgeries.

To shed light on the issue, researchers at HSS turned to the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) database for New York state. SPARCs is a comprehensive all payer data reporting system of all hospital admissions and ambulatory surgery cases performed in New York state, with the exclusion of those performed in Veterans Affairs facilities or other federal hospitals. They identified 7,312 children and adolescents who underwent spinal fusion between 2004 and 2014. Of this group, 6.7 percent received BMP. Use spiked between 2008 and 2010, when 8.7 percent received the product. BMP was more likely to be used in children that were older, white, and of a higher socioeconomic status.

"We didn’t find any improvement in mid to long-term outcomes," said Dr. Dodwell. "While we didn’t find any serious mid- to long-term complications with the use of BMP, longer-term larger prospective studies would be needed to determine the safety and efficacy of BMP in children." She thinks the study’s findings support caution in using BMP for spinal fusion in children.

The AAOS meeting is held in San Diego, California, March 14-18. The study also appears in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics (Jan 5. Epub ahead of print).

 

About HSS | Hospital for Special Surgery
HSS is the world’s leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health. At its core is Hospital for Special Surgery, nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics for 14 years in a row and No. 2 in rheumatology by U.S.News & World Report (2023-2024). Founded in 1863, the Hospital has one of the lowest infection rates in the country and was the first in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center four consecutive times. The global standard total knee replacement was developed at HSS in 1969. An affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College, HSS has a main campus in New York City and facilities in New Jersey, Connecticut and in the Long Island and Westchester County regions of New York State. In addition, HSS opened a new facility in Florida in early 2020. In 2019, HSS provided care to 151,000 patients and performed more than 35,000 surgical procedures, and people from all 50 U.S. states and 89 countries travelled to receive care at HSS. In addition to patient care, HSS leads the field in research, innovation and education. The HSS Research Institute comprises 20 translational research laboratories, 33 scientists, 10 clinician-scientists, 55 clinical investigators and 245 scientific support staff that drive the HSS research enterprise in the musculoskeletal “ecosystem,” neurology, pain management and rheumatic diseases. The HSS Innovation Institute was formed in 2016 to realize the potential of new drugs, therapeutics and devices. The HSS Education Institute is the world’s leading provider of education on musculoskeletal health, with its online learning platform offering more than 300 courses to more than 30,000 medical professional members worldwide. Through HSS Global Ventures, the institution is collaborating with medical centers and other organizations to advance the quality and value of musculoskeletal care and to make world-class HSS care more widely accessible nationally and internationally.

 

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