SUMMARY
With population aging, the rising burden of osteoporotic vertebral fractures—causing pain, deformity, functional impairment, and potential neurological complications—highlights the need to optimize diagnostic and treatment strategies. The aim of the study. To investigate the role of selected key diagnostic features of spondylography, densitometry, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging in the differential diagnosis of osteoporotic vertebral fractures and in selecting the surgical treatment strategy. Material and Methods. The medical histories of 93 patients who underwent surgical treatment for osteoporotic vertebral fractures at the Teaching Surgery Clinic and Baku Health Center between 2015 and 2024 were reviewed. Results. In 74 patients (79,6%), the primary symptoms included localized pain in different regions of the spine, kyphosis, other deformities, general weakness, and psycho-emotional disorders. In 19 patients (20,4%), neurological symptoms such as movement, sensory, and pelvic organ dysfunctions were observed. Radiological methods used for patient examination included spondylography for all patients (100%), computer tomography for 54 patients (58%), and magnetic resonance tomography for 89 patients (95%). The results of these examinations were analyzed comparatively. Conclusion. Comprehensive clinical and instrumental assessments enable identification of osteoporosis-related pathological fractures, determination of injury-specific characteristics, differential diagnosis, and evaluation of concomitant somatic comorbidities and their severity, thereby facilitating high-quality preoperative planning and improving treatment outcomes.
Keywords: osteoporosis, vertebral fractures, diagnostics

---

REFERENCES

1. Беневоленская Л.И. Руководство по остеопорозу.- М.: Бином, 2003. - 524 с.
2. Котельников Г.П., Королюк И.П., Шехтман А.Г. Лучевая диагностика стеоророза: Современное состояние и переспективы // Клин. геронтология. 2003. N9. с. 9-11.
3. Лесняк О.М. Остеопороз. Диагностика, профилактика и лечения. / под ред. О.М. Лесняк, Л.И. Беневоленской. М.: ГЭОТАР- Медиа; 2009. 272 с.
4. Педаченко Е.Г., Кищаев С.В. Пунционная вертебропластика. Киев. 2005, 520 с.
5. McCarthy J. Davis A. Diagnosis and management of vertebral compression fractures // Am Fam Physician, 2016; 94:44-50
6. Cosman F, de Beur SJ, LeBoff MS, et al. Clinician’s Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis [published correction appears in Osteoporos Int. 2015 Jul;26(7):2045-7] // Osteoporos Int., 2014;25(10):2359-2381
7. Camacho PM, Petak SM, Binkley N, et al. American association of clinical endocrinologists and american college of endocrinology clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis – 2016 // Endocr Pract., 2016;22(Suppl 4):l-42.
8. Camacho PM Petak SM Binkley N Clarke BL Harris American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. American College of Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis // Endocrine Practice. 2016; 22:1111-1118.
9. Genev IK, Tobin MK, Zaidi SP, Khan SR, Amirouche FML, Mehta AI. Spinal Compression Fracture Management: A Review of Current Treatment Strategies and Possible Future Avenues // Global Spine J. 2017; 7:71-82.
10. Hedderich DM, Maegerlein C, Baum T, et al. Differentiation of acute/subacute versus old vertebral fractures in multislice detector computed tomography: is magnetic resonance imaging always needed? // World Neurosurgery. 2019;122:e676–e683. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2018.10.121.
11. Kutsal FY, Ergin Ergani GÖ. Vertebral compression fractures: Still an unpredictable aspect of osteoporosis // Turk J Med Sci. 2021:51:393-399. doi: 10.3906/sag-2005-315
12. Küçükler FK Simsek Y Turk AC Arduc A Guler S. Osteoporosis and silent vertebral, fractures in nursing home resident elderly men in Turkey // Journal of Clinical Densitometry. 2017;20:188-195.
13. Link TM, Kazakia G. Update on imaging-based measurement of bone mineral density and quality // Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2020;22:13. doi: 10.1007/s11926-020-00892-w.
14. Malgo F Hamdy NAT Ticheler CHJM. Smit F Kroon HM Value and potential limitations of vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) compared to conventional spine radiography: experience from a fracture liaison service (FLS) and a met analysis // Osteoporosis International. 2017; 28:2955-2965. doi: 10.1007/s00198-017-4137-6
15. Nuti R, Brandi ML, Checchia G, Di Munno O, et al. Guidelines for the management of osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Intern Emerg Med. 2019 Jan;14(1):85-102. doi: 10.1007/s11739-018-1874-2
16. Rosen HN, Walega DR. Osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral compression fractures: Clinical manifestations and treatment. In: Rosen CJ, Mulder JE, editors. UpToDate, 2020. [cited 20 January 2022].