Quality of life results of balloon kyphoplasty versus non surgical management for osteoporotic vertebral fractures in Germany

BACKGROUND To compare improvement in quality of life (QoL) and symptoms' relief in vertebral compression fractures (VCF) due to osteoporosis for patients undergoing balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) to those undergoing non-surgical management (NSM) in a real-life setting. METHODS In this prospective, comparative study, quality-of-life was evaluated in eight centres in Germany between 2005 and 2008, for 82 patients, with the EQ-5D questionnaire, and the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). RESULTS BKP patients demonstrated a statistical and clinical significant higher improvement in EQ-5D than NSM patients, 0.44 and 0.25 from baseline to 12 months, respectively. Moreover, BKP patients showed a clinically relevant improvement in the RMDQ by 6.25 from baseline to 12 months, whereas NSM patients had no significant improvement in the RMDQ. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates for VCF patients that in real-life quality of life for BKP patients improves more than for NSM patients; confirming the results of a large randomized clinical trial.