Quality of Life Comparison between Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty in Patients with Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures

Study Design: Retrospective evaluation. Purpose: To compare quality of life in postmenopausal women with osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) who underwent vertebroplasty (VP) or kyphoplasty (KP). Overview of Literature: Patient with OVFs who do not respond to conservative treatment can be treated with VP or ballon KP for faster pain relief. There are controversies on which procedure is more effective. Methods: Five hundred twenty-eight postmenopausal women in nationwide hospitals with age of 50 years or older who underwent VP of KP for OVFs were enrolled in this study. Health related quality of life was measured using the European Quality of Life 5 Domains (EQ-5D) and visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: In the VP group, average EQ-5D dimension was 1.95 in mobility, 1.86 in self care, 2.02 in usual activity, 2.19 in pain, 1.69 in anxiety or depression. In the KP group, average EQ-5D dimension was 1.83 in mobility, 1.78 in self care, 1.98 in usual activity, 2.03 in pain, 1.55 in anxiety or depression. Quality of life of KP group was significantly better than that of the VP group in mobility (p=0.016), pain (p=0.001), and anxiety or depression (p=0.008). Average EQ-5D index of the VP and the KP group was 0.353 (+/- 0.472) and 0.485 (+/- 0.357), respectively. The EQ-5D index of the KP group was significantly (p<0.001) higher than that of the KP group. The difference of VAS between VP and KP group was not statistically significant (p=0.580). Conclusions: Quality of life in patient with OVFs who underwent KP was significantly better than that of patients who underwent VP.