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.