Lopez CD, Boddapati V, Lombardi JM, et al. - A retrospective cohort study was conducted to distinguish recent trends in utilization and reimbursements of these procedures between 2012and 2017, a period which experienced a change in national guideline recommendations for these procedures. At the county level, Annual Medicare claims and payments to surgeons were aggregated to evaluate regional trends. Researchers applied descriptive statistics and multivariate regression models to assess trends in procedure volume, utilization rates, and reimbursement rates, and to analyze relationships between county-specific variables and outcome variables. The study included a sum of 24,316 vertebroplasties and 138,778 kyphoplasties in the Medicare population between 2012 and 2017. It was shown that vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedure volume and utilization of both procedures have declined significantly in this large national Medicare database study. Payments for kyphoplasty procedures have risen significantly, although average reimbursements to surgeons for vertebroplasties have significantly declined. According to the findings, although vertebroplasty volume has significantly reduced, it is still being conducted and being reimbursed for, in spite of its controversial role in its treatment of vertebral fractures.